Sigmanet Makes Former Presidio VP Its First CTO

Reese joins Sigmanet from Greenbelt, Md.-based solution provider Presidio Networked Solutions, where he most recently served as senior vice president, technology, West area.

In his new role at Sigmanet -- a member of CRN's Tech Elite 250 and No. 190 on CRN's 2012 Solution Provider 500 list -- Reese said he'll be tasked with building up the solution provider's play around some of the industry's hottest emerging technologies, including bring-your-own-device (BYOD) solutions, the cloud, software-defined networking (SDN) and big data.

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"I'm more of a peak-around-the-corner type of guy. You hear people talk about big data and software-defined networking, and those things are very, very hyped," Reese said. "But, in time, they'll become mainstream adoptions, so the trick for us is being able to predict how and when that's going to happen."

While no simple feat, Reese seems more than up for the challenge. In his most recent role at Presidio -- also a member a CRN's Tech Elite 250 and ranked No. 27 on CRN's 2012 Solution Provider 500 list -- Reese was responsible for overseeing all of Presidio's technical go-to-market strategy for the solution provider's West area business, which Reese said valued at roughly $400 million.

Reese came to Presidio through the company's November 2011 acquisition of fellow solution provider titan INX. At the time of the roughly $85 million deal, Reese had only been with INX for about a month, in which he was heading up the company's collaboration and secured architectures division.

Before joining INX, Reese was senior director of solutions management at Nexus Integration Services, a Valencia, Calif.-based solution provider and, like INX, Presidio and Sigmanet, a well-known Cisco partner.

As he settles into his role at Sigmanet, Reese said he already has some goals in mind for the Ontario, Calif.-based company. Among them, he said, is helping Sigmanet navigate one of the major trends he sees in the channel today: the shifting of budget spend from the CIO office to the line-of-business.

"There's an evolution of the conversation, and I really think we -- and I say 'we' collectively as an industry -- have not been doing a good job keeping up with where the customer's thinking is."

To align Sigmanet with this shift, Reese said he would like to see customer conversations change from being "efforts-based" to "results-based." When selling a BYOD solution to a hospital, for example, the conversation should focus on how that solution will enable doctors and nurses to more efficiently stay in touch with patients, not just the technical "effort" or steps involved in getting there.

Overall, Reese said he thinks Sigmanet is well positioned to manage industry shifts -- both in technology and customer spending habits -- given its more than 27 years on the job.

"I think the companies that have the legacy and the historical knowledge carry with them something that's wildly different from the companies that are just five years old or 10 years old and don't carry with them that 'tribal' knowledge and history," Reese said.

PUBLISHED MAY 22, 2013