100 People You Don't Know But Should 2016 (Part 1)

Unsung Heroes

There are a lot of shining stars on vendors’ channel management teams. And then there are a lot of people who work just as hard toward the success of partners but don't spend much time in the spotlight. Maybe they are behind-the-scenes players responsible for building a new cloud program. Or they might be high-level channel executives at lesser-known companies that offer high-margin sales opportunities to prospective partners. Or they aren’t part of channel management at all but are driving strategy or technology vision that impacts solution providers in the field.

CRN's annual 100 People You Don't Know But Should list examines those building and running channel programs, designing special incentives, educating and training solution providers and evangelizing hot technology. They are the unsung heroes who put in the elbow grease to make channel partnerships work.

Also, be sure to check out Part 2 of the 100 People You Don't Know But Should 2016 list.

Kelly Hartman, Amazon Web Services

Global Head of AWS Partner Network

A former Airborne Communications Systems Operator in the U.S. Airforce, Hartman last year played a pivotal role in ramping up of the Amazon Web Services Managed Service Partner Program. Now she's moved into a new job running the cloud behemoth's partner program.

Katie Boeh, APC by Schneider Electric

Director, Channel Marketing and Communications

A rising star within APC by Schneider Electric's channel management team, Boeh this summer was promoted to her new role, where she is responsible for driving demand generation and brand loyalty through outreach and channel marketing.

JD Giles, APC by Schneider Electric

Senior Director, Channel Field Sales

Giles is all about building tight relationships in the field between APC by Schneider Electric and its channel partners. The company's recent push into managed services has given him a whole new crop of solution providers to team with.

Matthew Polly, AppDynamics

VP of Worldwide Alliances and Business Development

Solution providers looking to jump into the red-hot application management space should cozy up to Polly, who's driving channel sales at AppDynamics. The company brought in $159 million last fall in its latest funding round and is said to be preparing for an IPO.

Donna Lowe, Aruba, an HPE Company

Networking Channel Director - West

Lowe played a key role during the transition after HPE acquired Aruba, building marketing programs and campaigns that helped build bridges between channel partners from both sides. She's credited with helping drive big growth for wireless networking partners.

Taylor Conklin, AT&T

Director of Marketing Communications

One of Conklin's biggest projects over the past year was refreshing AT&T's channel program tier structure, building in added benefits for partners that rise through the ranks. She's also responsible for developing new turnkey marketing tools that are helping partners succeed.

Fred Gerritse, AVG

SVP & GM, AVG Business

In less than a year on the job, Gerritse has already brought new fire to AVG's channel efforts, rolling out a new model that has added five new distributors to its ranks. On the product front, he pushed hard to integrate the company's antivirus technology into the entire AVG Business portfolio.

Sara Harold, Carbonite

Manager, Field Marketing and Events

Harold is a Carbonite evangelist whose main goal is to get the cloud storage company out to channel events to make sure solution providers who know it only as a consumer brand get educated on its robust small business offerings and strong partner program.

Kristen Menard, Carbonite

Head of Channel Marketing

Described as a "powerhouse," Menard spent the bulk of this year focused on designing and orchestrating the rollout of Carbonite's new partner program and realigning the company's channel marketing team to support it, all part of the company's push to grow its focus on the SMB channel.

Gahn Lane, CenturyLink

VP, ISVs and Federal Channel Sales

Lane joined CenturyLink in September with one goal in mind: to drive sales of the telco's services through government customers through the channel. To do that he's maintaining consistency in the company's partner program and ensuring the channel knows they will be supported and well-compensated.

Gerry Baron, Cirrity

CMO

Baron drives marketing efforts for channel-only cloud service provider Cirrity, making sure solution providers have all the tools, marketing collateral and content they need to sell the company's white-label cloud and hybrid cloud offerings under their own logos.

Tony Shakib, Cisco

VP of IoT Solutions

From hospitals to retails stores to oil refineries, Shakib is responsible for ensuring the technology that goes into Cisco's digital solutions architecture meets the needs of vertical market clients. He says solution providers have a major role to play in customizing IoT solutions for those customers.

John Carey, Citrix

Senior Director, Worldwide Channel Programs Strategy

Carey issued a clarion call to his team to make sure Citrix is recognizing and reward the value solution providers bring. The result in April was the rollout of new channel incentives for identifying and qualifying new deals and for solution-selling into existing and new opportunities.

Joe Barnes, Cohesity

Head of Channels

Cohesity is making secondary storage sexy. Since joining the startup in January, Barnes has teamed with a who's who of strategic service providers to drive sales of the channel-only company's hyperconverged storage portfolio.

Stephanie Barton, Concerto Cloud Services

Senior Partner Marketing Manager

Barton works 1:1 with channel partners to make sure their first cloud transaction with Concerto is a success. She's also leading strategic innovation and growth for the company's partner program and is always on the lookout for new revenue opportunities for solution providers.

Rochelle Coleman, Concerto Cloud Services

Director of Marketing and Partner Strategy

When it comes to developing Concerto's partner strategy – from go-to-market, to running the partner program to driving growth – Coleman's the woman, and her marketing team is out beating the bushes to build the company's brand and create demand generation for solution providers.

Tina Gravel, Cryptzone

SVP, Strategic Alliances and Channel Partners

A former VP at solution provider giant Dimension Data, Gravel jumped to Cryptzone last summer and quickly got to work ramping up the company's channel presence, starting with the rollout of an enhanced partner program that offers healthy margins.

Jason Lundy, Cyber adAPT

SVP of Strategic Operations

Lundy rolled out the red carpet for solution providers in August with the launch of mobile security vendor Cyber adAPT's ELITE Partner Program, which promises extensive training and support, deal registration and supporting sales methodology to help close deals quickly.

Abigail Maines, Cylance

VP of Business Development

Maines is pounding the pavement to find new business opportunities for Cylance and its channel partners as the next-generation endpoint security startup continues to turn heads with its cutting-edge technology and out-of-this-world growth, building on a $100 million funding round this summer.

Tim Billing, D&H Distributing

VP, Product Management – Global Vendors

Billing is on the front lines when it comes to helping D&H build iron-clad partnerships strategic vendors that drive growth for both D&H and its partners. Through these relationships, he's ensuring that D&H's portfolio meets the advanced technology needs of SMB solution providers.

Rob Chamberlin, DataXoom

Co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer

Wireless entrepreneur Chamberlin launched DataXoom in 2012 with the express purpose of connecting businesses to the mobile Internet, revolutionizing the wireless data services market with simple pricing, business-friendly terms that eschew contracts, excessive overages and termination penalties.

Eric Torres, Datto

Channel Development Manager

Torres, himself a former solution provider, is now a road warrior who eats, sleeps and breathes channel development for Datto, which is gaining boatload of solution provider and MSP fans with big benefits and recurring revenue opportunities for selling its cloud backup services.

Mike Bradley, Dell

Director, Global Channel Programs

Bradley wakes up every morning with one thing on his mind: how to drive better enablement for Dell's channel partners to help them close more deals and grab share from Dell rivals. To accomplish that, he's going to market in lockstep with solution providers.

Brett Hansen, Dell Security

Executive Director, Data Security Solutions

The changes swirling around Dell's security business have not distracted Hansen one bit from his primary mission: expanding the company's data protection portfolio with new capabilities such as backup and recovery and multi-factor authentication.

Alan Geary, Docker

Senior Director of Channel and Alliance Sales

Geary, a former VMware senior exec, is overseeing the channel effort for Docker, a company that is widely viewed as the next big technology game-changer for the channel, where he was the driving force behind a new two tier channel program in September.

Graciano Beyhaut, Eaton

Sr. Marketing Operations Manager

An 11-year Eaton veteran who's the marketing point man in Eaton's all-out offensive to help the channel drive recurring revenue with Intelligent Power Manager software, Beyhaut has the expertise and financial resources to power a channel transformation.

Phil Demeo, EiQ Networks

VP of Alliances

Eleven-year EiQ veteran Demeo is the driving force behind one of the hottest security-as-a-service channel plays. EiQ's midmarket focus is drawing raves in the channel, as is Demeo's partnering prowess. Look for continued channel investment from Demeo & Co.

Maureen Gaumer, EMC (Dell Technologies)

Director, US Field and Partner Marketing

A no-nonsense channel superstar has been widely praised by partners for using her industry expertise and strategic engagement skills to drive breakthrough marketing programs, Gaumer's leadership skills helped her score a Women In Channel Up and Comers award from CRN this year.

John Grillos, FinalCode

SVP, Worldwide Sales

A National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Athlete Scholar of the Year, Grillos is a 25-year industry veteran who is now running channel plays for one of the hottest security companies. He has an impressive track record driving sales growth at EMC-Documentum, IBM and Quark Software.

Stacey Black, ForeScout

Senior Manager, Channel Planning & Operations

The former worldwide channel development director at Citrix, Black joined security software maker ForeScout just 10 months ago and is driving major channel operations improvements. Partners say Black's channel operations muscle is poised to drive big Internet of Things security sales growth.

Padma Rao, GitHub

Director of Channels

A former director of worldwide channels at Akamai, Rao is now leading the channel charge at popular socially networked code repository vendor GitHub. Her biggest accomplishment so far: a new channel program that has received high praise from partners.

Murali Sitaram, Google

Managing Director, Partner Strategy & Global Alliances

Sitaram has brought the channel expertise and skills he developed during his six years at Cisco to up Google's channel game. His latest accomplishment: driving new updates to the partner program to reflect the elevated role the channel will play for Google in the cloud.

McLeod Glass, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

VP of Product Management, Software-Defined Data Center and Cloud

Look for great things from this highly regarded 16-year HPE veteran who takes this critical new role effective Nov. 1. Glass has a stellar track record moving steadily up the ranks driving big sales growth with partners for the bread-and-butter HPE ProLiant line.

David Sung, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Director, Worldwide SMB Server Marketing

A longtime venture capitalist who joined HPE two years ago, Sung has given the SMB business an entrepreneurial shot in the arm. His biggest accomplishment: leading the marketing charge for HPE's fast growing, breakthrough ProLiant Easy Connect product

Aaron Cote, Hexadite

VP of Sales

A superstar at Carbon Black, Cote joined security orchestration and automation software maker Hexadite in June. Partners say they already see a big difference in the go-to-market strategy with a pact that allows HPE partners to resell Hexadite products.

Bill Avey, HP Inc

GM & Global Head, Personal Systems Services

Avey a few years ago worked tirelessly to drive a print managed services revolution for HP. Now he's at it again, driving what has become the premier device-as-a-service offering in the market. The 18year HP veteran is unstoppable.

Michael Park, HP Inc

VP & GM, Mobility and Retail Solutions, Personal Systems

A mobility market rock star, Park is driving an innovation revolution that has led to one breakthrough after another, from the world's thinnest notebook -- the HP Spectre -- to the Microsoft Windows 10-based HP Elitex3. Partners credit Park for capturing premium market share from rival Apple.

Pete Karns, IBM

VP, Internet of Things

One of the smartest guys in the room, the 10-year IBM veteran is driving an Internet of Things renaissance at Big Blue. Key to his success – bringing a no-nonsense business perspective to the market that is winning over partners in critical vertical markets like manufacturing and insurance.

David Wilson, IBM

VP, IBM Cloud Business Partners

Perhaps one of IBM's biggest secret weapons, Wilson has put together what may well be the most profitable cloud sales program in the industry. His strong grasp on what makes the channel tick is key to IBM's big cloud sales gains.

Jeff Feige, IGEL

VP of Field SE

A 15-year endpoint management veteran, Feige brings a fresh point of view to the channel in the endpoint software and management arena. He is enabling partners to better understand IGEL’s products from a technical perspective to enhance their sales strategy.

Rodney Foreman, Informatica

SVP, Partner Ecosystem

Informatica’s new channel chief, Foreman is a rising star who brings over a decade of channel executive experience from IBM. He is tasked with developing the vendor’s worldwide partner ecosystem while also increasing indirect revenues.

Kelly Carter, Ingram Micro

Executive Director, Credit and Financial Services

Carter's top priority is helping channel partners get credit, raise their credit and explore financial options to enable them to sell the best technologies possible. With decades of experience, she is simplifying the sales cycle and doing the math that matters most for Ingram's 40,000 channel partners.

Steen Graham, Intel

Managing Director of IoT Channels

As one of the leaders in the burgeoning IoT market, Intel has put its faith in Graham to manage the company's IoT channel strategy. With Intel planning to invest billions in IoT, Graham will be the channel's biggest advocate and mentor.

J.R. Cook, Intelisys

SVP, West Region

Twenty years of executive experience inside the telecom industry has enabled Cook to make channel-friendly decisions inside Intelisys, where he supports its top sales partners and suppliers in the west region as Intelisys merges with ScanSource.

Curt Mark, Intermedia

VP, Channel Sales

Curt helped successfully build Intermedia's channel sales team, driving high profits for the company's 13,000 partners. He also manages and keeps a keen eye on the company's key technology and distribution relationships in North America.

Courtney Steinkrauss, Intronis MSP Solutions by Barracuda

Senior Partner Marketing Specialist

Known as a prime sales and technical resource at Intronis, thousands of partners in North America and the U.K. count on Steinkrauss for go-to-market guidance. As a key contributor to the ’Ask Intronis’ blog, Steinkrauss is evangelizing the Intronis narrative and helping partners tell their own compelling stories.

Kevin Lozeau, Kaspersky Lab

Director of Channel Marketing, North America

A driven, entrepreneurial, sales and marketing leader, Lozeau is on the front end of Kaspersky Lab's channel push in North America's cybersecurity market. Solution providers looking to jump into the red-hot security arena should look to Lozeau for guidance.

Sravish Sridhar, Kinvey

CEO

Sridhar is building a channel community for Kinvey to help enterprises and developers easily setup and operate cloud-based backends for their mobile devices, dubbed 'Backend as a Service.' Sales of Kinvey's new service offer targeting SAP users are being led by channel partners.

Kelly McEuen, KMC Controls

VP of Business Development - IoT Solutions

Driving sales in the emerging IoT market is no easy task, which is why KMC picked McEuen to take on the challenge. McEuen has a history in the energy, oil, transportation and industrial sectors which is prime real estate for IoT solutions. Now he's working to bring new IT-focused solution providers into KMC's traditionally OT-focused channel program.

Richard Newberry, KMC Controls

Chairman Advisor

A key advisor and former CEO for KMC, Newberry is KMC's biggest evangelist as the company turns heads in the building control systems market with its open, secure, scalable systems. Now he's ushering in a new era as he works to bring IT solution providers into KMC's fold to tackle the Internet of Things.