Imperva Global Channel Chief Soderlund Jumps To 8x8

Imperva global channel chief Karl Soderlund has jumped to 8x8, taking a role as group vice president, worldwide channels and alliances at the VoIP vendor.

Soderlund announced his departure on LinkedIn, saying he was "very excited to be starting my next adventure leading global channels at 8x8" and that it is a "great company with huge potential."

Imperva confirmed by email that Soderlund had left the company, saying his departure was part of a company restructuring in November. A spokesperson said the channel will now be led by Brian Feeney, vice president of channels, and Kirt Jorgenson, senior director of channel and alliance marketing. Feeney is now overseeing worldwide channels in his role.

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"Imperva is a strong proponent of the channel and continues to invest in it and in our Imperva ChannelSphere Partner Program," the spokesperson said in an email.

8x8 did not respond to requests for comment from CRN. CRN also reached out directly to Soderlund for comment on his move, but has not yet heard back.

Soderlund joined Imperva as vice president, worldwide channels and alliances in August 2015, helping overhaul the company's partner program this summer and move all of the company's portfolio through the channel. According to his LinkedIn profile, Soderlund left Imperva in December, joining 8x8 this month.

The departure is the latest example of challenges at Imperva, which has been plagued by takeover rumors in recent months. Companies interested in an acquisition of the data and application security company have reportedly included Cisco Systems, Forcepoint and IBM.

Imperva has also faced pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which owns a 10.9 percent share of the company and is well-known for its technology investments, as well as a habit of publicly pushing those companies to make drastic changes. Elliott Management said in a filing that it was talking to Imperva about ’strategic and operational opportunities.’

Soderlund joined Imperva from Aruba Networks, where he was vice president, worldwide channels and alliances. Prior to joining Aruba in 2011, he held a variety of sales, marketing and channel roles at HP, Fortinet and Extreme Networks.