Talkdesk Taps Former Zscaler, HPE Exec As New Channel Leader: Exclusive

"I'm looking forward to really accelerating Talkdesk through the channel. It's a phenomenal opportunity,” the company’s new SVP of strategic alliances and partners Albert Caravelli tells CRN.

Contact Center-as-a-Service provider Talkdesk has a new channel leader: security and software veteran Albert Caravelli has joined the company as its new senior vice president of strategic alliances and partners, the company told CRN exclusively.

Caravelli has hit the ground running at Talkdesk and has big ambitions for the company, which currently does just above 60 percent of its business through the channel.

"Our goal by the end of calendar year 2025 [is that] we would like that to be 90 percent," he said.

Caravelli joins San Francisco-based Talkdesk after a nine-year tenure at Zscaler, where he most recently served as global vice president of strategic alliances and advisory firms. He also served as global vice president of alliance and channels for more than two years. Before his time at Zscaler, Caravelli served as senior director of worldwide global alliances, software for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. He's held channel and sales-related roles for Jive Software and Mercury Interactive, which was later acquired by HP, and software startup Asera.

[Related: Talkdesk Folds 'Responsible' Generative AI Features Into Cloud Contact Center Platform]

Caravelli is new to the contact center and customer experience space, but he's always up for learning and for a new challenge, he told CRN.

"I really think that's the only way to grow. If you really want to be successful in life, remove your comfort factor. I fortunately have been able to live that firsthand," he said.

The executive is no stranger to growing channel business for startups and his reputation with partners precedes him.

"I'm looking forward to really accelerating Talkdesk through the channel. It's a phenomenal opportunity," he said. "Any problems [Talkdesk] has had is just because we've grown so quickly and they're very fixable."

The Talkdesk partner network, he added, is going to be instrumental in helping the company grow.

The customer experience industry has many legacy providers with traditional technology, but where Talkdesk differentiates is in its AI-powered contact center portfolio that was built from the ground up to be a multi-cloud, multi-tenant-based offering, Caravelli said. The company has also historically had great success within specific verticals, such as healthcare and life sciences, a strategy that Talkdesk will continue to pursue with the help of partners, he added.

"Instead of going after our competitors, we're going to go after the industries," he said.

Outside of work, Caravelli is a former international athlete, and he serves as a technical advisor and guest commentator for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens, which supports local rugby unions in preparing and qualifying for the Olympics and other competitions. He was the former head coach for USA Rugby and the Philippines Volcanoes National Teams. Caravelli volunteers with the Special Olympics and Wounded Warriors.