The Top 10 Up & Comers Of 2011

These 10 executives are the ones to watch as they work to make their mark while driving their companies down new paths. As part of CRN’s Top 100 Executives report, we spotlight the Top 10 Up & Comers of 2011.

10. Vince Bradley

President, CEO
World Telecom Group

Credit Bradley, a guy who definitely understands both sides of the VAR/carrier agent coin, for aligning master agency monster WTG for growth with VARs -- they’re the No. 1 profile of new WTG agents and gaining ground fast. Bradley -- as no-b.s.-a-guy as you’re likely to find in the telecom channel -- is as good as anyone at calling out which carriers have their act together regarding VAR channel outreach and which are just blowing smoke.

9. Taylor Macdonald

Vice President, Channel Sales
Intacct

Intacct? Definitely an up-and-comer: a cloud financial management and accounting software company that’s taken plenty of VC financing and has a growing buzz in the SaaS channel. Leading that channel effort is the well-traveled Macdonald, known for his years running channel programs at Sage, Deltek and Promethean, and who became Intacct’s channel chief in 2010. The channel build-out continues.

8. Jay Bradley

President, Telecom Services
Intelisys

As more VARs adopt carrier services and the two formerly discrete IT VAR and carrier agent channels converge, it’s master agents who are going to be at the center of the action and help VARs navigate the maze of business connectivity services available to them. Intelisys’ Bradley is fond of saying he’s bullish on the VAR channel, and it shows: Bradley and his team are earning plenty of loyalty from VARs interested in the types of carrier services key to becoming more versatile in the cloud era.

7. Michael Jerich

Vice President, Indirect Channels
Level 3 Communications

Level 3’s acquisition of Global Crossing, Jerich’s most recent employer, means the combination of service provider powers with big and sometimes unwieldy channel communities will continue. Somehow, we don’t think that will faze Jerich who, after leaving Level 3 in 2009 for Global Crossing, has returned to the CLEC and is now in charge of Level 3’s business partners, VARs, systems integrators and strategic alliances. The spotlight is now his, and with Level 3 mounting one of the more highly regarded channel programs for VARs interested in carrier services, rest assured he’ll have a captive channel audience.

6. Patrick Piwowarczyk

Vice President, U.S. Enterprise, Channel Sales
D-Link

After years of channel changes and program revamp, D-Link finally has its ducks in a row: a well-regarded channel program called Value In Partnership (VIP) that offers D-Link VARs lucrative deal registration-based discounts and other incentives such as bounties. Pushing hard to up D-Link’s profile is Piwowarczyk, a practiced hand in the networking channel who in the nine years he spent with 3Com saw first-hand what a partner program can do to excite and alienate solution providers. Since joining D-Link in 2009 and taking his current role in August 2010, Piwowarcyzk’s been a name D-Link VARs know they can trust.

5. Leonard Iventosch

Vice President, Americas Channel Sales
EMC

Funny how things change in the channel. Iventosch was for many years vice president of global channels at NetApp, one of EMC’s biggest storage rivals. Now Iventosch, who joined EMC following two and a half years at EMC-acquired Isilon, is running the Americas channel show at the storage giant -- another feather in EMC’s cap given the enormous respect Iventosch commands from channel partners.

4. Treb Ryan

CEO
OpSource

OpSource earlier this year was acquired by global solution provider power Dimension Data, which is integrating OpSource into its Cloud Solutions Business Unit in a stab at becoming a global cloud superpower. OpSource’s maestro is Ryan, who through everything from OpSource’s Validated Cloud Solutions Program to its robust offerings for ISVs, carriers and cloud providers, is one of the cloud channel’s go-to guys, thought leaders and prime movers.

3. Lee Finck

Vice President, Worldwide Sales
Netgear

Coming on stronger and stronger is Netgear, which in the past year has more than doubled the number of channel account managers and tripled the number of partners with named Inside Channel Account managers. Driving the bus on Netgear’s stepped-up channel push is Finck, who in previous channel VP stints at F5 Networks, Likewise Software and PGP earned the respect and loyalty of many a partner. A year into his tenure at Netgear, Finck and his team are in attack mode.

2. Alex Dobson

Vice President, Sales
Huawei U.S. Enterprise

Watch out, Cisco: There’s a new player in the enterprise networking game, and by new player, we mean a well-established, $28 billion Chinese telecom equipment giant with an eye on the U.S. and doing 100 percent of sales of its enterprise-grade routers, switches and telepresence here through U.S.-based VARs. Leading Huawei’s U.S. sales effort is Dobson, known to partners for the years he spent with 3Com and HP Networking. He has his work cut out for him convincing U.S. VARs to give Huawei’s products and channel strategy a look.

1. Tim Cook

CEO
Apple

Cook has a daunting journey ahead: carry the torch for the world’s best-loved, most valuable technology company following the death of his predecessor, Steve Jobs, an IT executive with a legacy so large and influential it makes the word ’iconic’ seems insufficient. But Cook’s transition to Apple’s highest office was a smooth one compared to other, far messier CEO transitions under far less difficult circumstances, and he has the respect of Apple’s sensitive investor community and diehard employees alike.

One big question for Cook: Will Apple become a friendlier channel vendor during his tenure, especially given the enterprise appetite for its iPhones and iPads?