Sources: Two Top Intel Security Channel Execs Take New Roles At Company
In the latest iteration of a series of changes hitting the Intel Security partner community, two of the security vendor’s most respected channel executives have been promoted to new roles outside the company’s partner ecosystem, sources told CRN.
Lisa Matherly, vice president of worldwide partner programs, marketing and operations, will now serve as head of content marketing, helping lead a restructured go-to-market approach for the company. Fernando Quintero, vice president of Americas channel sales and operations, has also moved, now serving as head of Latin America for Intel Security.
The changes were expected to be made public next week, a source said.
Both executives are well-known in the channel and to Intel Security partners, with Quintero serving at the company since 2002 and leading channels since 2009, and Matherly serving in a variety of channel marketing leadership roles since joining the company in 2002.
Intel Security confirmed both moves in an email to CRN. A spokesperson said Quintero would continue in his current role until a replacement is found. Matherly has been replaced by Regan Ogner, the spokesperson said, who previously served as senior director of channel marketing for North America.
The appointments come on the heels of months of changes at the security vendor, including the launch of a new strategy at its Focus 15 event in the fall, the divestiture and sale of multiple product lines, and the appointment of new channel chief Richard Steranka in August. Steranka replaced Gavin Struthers, who was moved in March from the channel chief role to president of the company’s APAC region.
Partners said the amount of changes in recent months have them unsettled about the company’s direction. Michael Goldstein, president and CEO of LAN Infotech, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Intel Security partner, expressed his doubts about the company’s commitment to its channel, a sentiment he said was based on the departures of key channel executives as well as what he called ’bad experiences’ he has had with the vendor’s product changes in recent months.
’It’s the writing on the wall,’ Goldstein said. ’I guess, like anything else, if there’s a sinking ship and if you have good talent and if they know they’re good, they will go elsewhere.’
Despite that fear, sources inside the organization said Intel Security remains focused on the future of its channel program, with one source saying the company has ’never had a set of executives more committed to channel partners.’
LAN Infotech’s Goldstein said he plans to stick with Intel Security for the foreseeable future, adding he plans to take a ’wait-and-see’ approach until the changes play out.
’I think that a lot of us [partners] are going to sit and wait and see,’ Goldstein said. ’The only thing they can do is come out with a great product and roll with it. … I want to bring to my clients the best solutions.’