Intel Partner Advocate Tichelman No Longer Heading Up Channel Business
Intel channel chief Maurits Tichelman -- lauded by solution providers as a true partner advocate -- is no longer heading up the chip company's channel business, CRN has learned.
Tichelman, who had been serving as vice president of Intel's sales and marketing group and general manager of sales within the worldwide direct and channel sales, is moving to a new leadership position outside of the company's channel business, effective Jan. 1, Intel confirmed.
In his new role, Tichelman will lead sales initiatives in the European market, serving as marketing group vice president and general manager for Intel's Europe, Middle East and Africa territory. Meanwhile, Ricardo Moreno, who Intel hired this past year as vice president of channel sales, will continue to stay in his role, said Todd Garrigues, director of channels and distribution for Americas marketing at Intel, in an interview with CRN.
"The key message here is that there have been some changes ... These are normal changes and we will continue to have a strong focus on our partner base heading into 2018," Garrigues said.
As channel chief, Tichelman introduced Intel's specialty benefits for existing channel partners selling solutions into the Education, Internet of Things (IoT) Retail, High-Performance Computing Data Center and Retailer segments.
Tichelman, who has led Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel's channel business for the last four years, developed a reputation as a genuine channel supporter among Intel solution providers.
"This is a loss for the Intel reseller channel from a big-picture standpoint. Maurits had deep roots in the global channel and solid relationships with channel partners of all levels," said one Intel solution provider via email, speaking on condition of anonymity. "He was very approachable and had a sincere desire to understand channel partners' business models."
Tichelman also spearheaded the reorganization of Intel's channel staff structure to bring together more support for the traditional reseller business and also streamlined the embedded and IoT business and account teams into one worldwide organization.
"The more we're looking at areas of growth, the more we're reaching into new customers, you see that the channel is at the center point of the opportunity," said Tichelman, in an interview with CRN in May. "We're growing businesses with new customers, and growing with new products into existing customers -- it's a very natural fit where the channel has a natural fit for us."
Tichelman is the latest executive to move out of Intel's channel business. In August, Intel revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that Greg Pearson, who has been the senior vice president and general manager of Intel's sales and marketing group since 2013, would move out of his channel role.
Meanwhile, in the fall of 2016, Intel underwent a management shakeup that saw Americas General Manager CJ Bruno move to a new role as the vice president and general manager of global accounts.