2017 Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs: Round 1 Results, Round 2 Matchups
On To The Solutions 16
After nearly 100,000 votes, the field of 32 has been cut in half as Round 1 of the third annual CRN Channel Madness Tournament of Chiefs has ended.
Voting for Round 2 closes Tuesday, March 28, at noon ET. Before you cast your votes, take a look at how Round 1 shook out and gain some insight into the Solutions 16 matchups here.
Infrastructure – Round 1
F5's David Helfer Defeats APC's Shannon Sbar
Kicking things off in the infrastructure region, where tournament newcomer David Helfer of F5 scored a big Round 1 win over APC by Schneider Electric's Shannon Sbar, 67 percent to 33 percent.
Sbar made her mark in the inaugural tournament, reaching the Field of Four in 2015. But that past success didn't carry over to 2017 as Helfer jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Despite only having held his role at the helm of F5's channels for less than a year, Helfer is quickly making a name for himself in the Channel Madness tournament.
Infrastructure – Round 1
Cisco's Wendy Bahr Defeats Commvault's Ralph Nimergood
Wendy Bahr's second trip to the channel's "Big Dance" was a lot more welcoming than her debut. Cisco's channel chief finished strong against CommVault's Ralph Nimergood, locking down a 54 percent to 46 percent victory.
Bahr is responsible for managing and supporting 60,000 global partners. She'll need that support to be reciprocated if she wants to make it out of the second round.
Infrastructure – Round 1
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Terry Richardson Defeats Extreme's Bob Gault
On to the HPE portion of the Infrastructure region, where Terry Richardson came roaring back to top Extreme's Bob Gault, winning 57 percent to 43 percent.
Backed by some creative social media, Gault jumped out to an early lead in Round 1. But he was unable to keep up the pressure as Richardson turned on the jets in the final hours of voting to score a trip to Round 2.
Infrastructure – Round 1
Hewlett Packard Enterprise's Scott Dunsire Defeats Eaton's Curtiz Gangi
Richardson's Round 2 opponent is his HPE compatriot, Scott Dunsire (pictured right). Dunsire faced a similar fate as his colleague, falling behind quickly in Round 1 to Eaton's Curtiz Gangi. But Dunsire also proved to be resilient, making a late push to win the contest, 56 percent to 44 percent.
The win means that Richardson and Dunsire will face each other in the Solutions 16, marking the first time we've had chiefs from the same company go head to head in the tournament.
Hardware - Round 1
NetApp's Bill Lipsin Defeats Brocade's Sandra Glaser Cheek
Upset Alert! Sandra Glaser Cheek's reign as the queen of Channel Madness has come to an end, as last year's champion fell to tournament newcomer Bill Lipsin.
Glaser Cheek jumped out to quick lead in early voting, but was unable sustain the support needed to get past NetApp's channel chief. Call it a statement win for Lipsin, who brings 30 years of experience in the channel to his Round 2 matchup.
Hardware - Round 1
Dell EMC's John Byrne Defeats Polycom's Nick Tidd
In a battle of fresh tournament blood, Dell EMC's John Byrne held off Polycom's Nick Tidd. This was a textbook nailbiter - a contest that came down to a difference of fewer than 50 votes - with Byrne ultimately topping Tidd 51 percent to 49 percent.
The first appearance for a chief representing a now joint Dell EMC has resulted in a win. On to Round 2.
Hardware - Round 1
HP's Stephanie Dismore Defeats Samsung's Greg Taylor
HP's Stephanie Dismore pulled ahead of Samsung's Greg Taylor early and never relented. This was by no means a blowout, but Dismore managed to hang onto her lead and ultimately locked down a 56 percent to 44 percent victory.
Dismore, who suffered a tough Round 1 loss to Lenovo's Sammy Kinlaw in last year's tournament, reversed course in 2017 for a trip to the Solutions 16.
Hardware - Round 1
Lenovo's Sammy Kinlaw Defeats Aruba's Donna Grothjan
Speaking of Sammy Kinlaw, the Lenovo chief kept his Round 1 magic going with a huge win over Aruba's Donna Grothjan. The 81 percent to 19 percent win ties for the largest margin of victory in the first round of the tournament.
Kinlaw advances to the Solutions 16 and gets a chance for his first Enterprise 8 appearance.
Cloud - Round 1
AT&T's Brooks McCorcle Defeats Carbonite's Jon Whitlock
AT&T's Brooks McCorcle continues to make an impression in the Channel Madness tournament, this time at the expense of Jon Whitlock. McCorcle, who made it to the final round of last year's tournament, disposed of Whitlock with a 77 percent to 23 percent win. Whitlock was a last-minute replacement in the tournament for Jessica Couto, who left Carbonite earlier this month.
McCorcle was at victory's door in 2016 and is now one step closer in 2017 with a trip to round 2.
Cloud - Round 1
Intermedia's Eric Martorano defeats Datto's Rob Rae
The heat turned up in the Cloud region with the most heavily voted match-up of Round 1 - Datto's Rob Rae squaring off with Eric Martorano (pictured right) of Intermedia. After a few lead changes, Martorano emerged victorious, 53 percent to 47 percent.
Martorano, the long-time Microsoft veteran, jumped to Intermedia in 2016. It's clear that he's made his presence known at the cloud business applications provider, as evidenced by his Round 2 berth.
Cloud - Round 1
Verizon's Janet Schijns Defeats LogicMonitor's David Powell
Verizon's Janet Schijns handily defeated LogicMonitor's David Powell, 80 percent to 20 percent. The win ties Lenovo's Kinlaw for the largest margin of victory in the round.
Schijns, who last year took the channel reigns at Verizon from former tournament darling Adam Famularo, boasts nearly 25 years of experience in the channel. She'll lean on that experience and the voting support of Verizon partners in Round 2.
Cloud - Round 1
VMware's Frank Rauch Defeats Google's Bertrand Yansouni
Closing out the Cloud region, tournament veteran Frank Rauch of VMware moved past Google's Bertrand Yansouni with a 70 percent to 30 percent win.
In 2015, Rauch made an impressive run to the Solutions 16, knocking off AT&T's McCorcle on his way. The next year, McCorcle got her revenge, returning the favor with a Round 2 victory over Rauch. Both are now one step closer to a best-of-three tiebreaker in a potential Enterprise 8 Cloud region matchup.
Software - Round 1
Oracle's Bill Swales Defeats Fortinet's Joe Sykora
On to the Software region, where Oracle's Bill Swales overcame an early deficit to take down Fortinet's Joe Sykora. As of Monday afternoon, Sykora held a steady lead of 10 percentage points. But Swales caught a head of steam to flip the script and earn a 54 percent to 46 percent win.
Swales, a 17-year veteran of the channel business, is making his first appearance in the Channel Madness tournament.
Software - Round 1
Salesforce's Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh Defeats SonicWall's Steve Pataky
Making her tournament debut, Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh of Salesforce held off channel veteran Steve Pataky for a narrow victory and a trip to Round 2. SonicWall's Pataky fell behind early and despite a late rally, was unable to overcome Taychakhoonavudh, who posted a 52 percent to 48 percent win.
Taking down a chief with 30 years of experience is an impressive feat, and Taychakhoonavudh will look to keep that momentum going in Round 2.
Software - Round 1
Microsoft's Gavriella Schuster Defeats Red Hat's Mark Enzweiler
Microsoft's Gavriella Schuster turned back a late rally from Red Hat's Mark Enzweiler to earn a trip to the Solutions 16. This Round 1 instant classic came down to the wire, with Schuster ultimately securing a 51 percent to 49 percent win.
Schuster's victory in her tournament debut was all that more impressive given that it was Enzweiler's third appearance in the contest.
Software - Round 1
Sophos' Kendra Krause Defeats Splunk's Brooke Cunningham
Closing things out in Round 1, Kendra Krause of Sophos prevailed in her matchup against Splunk's Brooke Cunningham. Krause, replacing former Channel Madness champion Mike Valentine as Sophos' tournament representative, led early and ultimately locked in a 53 percent to 47 percent win.
Infrastructure – Round 2
So here we sit, with the field cut in half and several high-profile channel chief matchups kicking off Round 2 of the 2017 Channel Madness Tournament.
Voting for Round 2 is now open and closes Tuesday, March 28, at noon ET. Before you cast your votes, get some insight into the Solutions 16 matchups here.
Infrastructure – Round 2
David Helfer, F5 vs. Wendy Bahr, Cisco
Tale of the Tape:
Tenure in current channel chief role: 9 months
Tenure with the company: 9 months
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 15
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Number of years in current channel chief role: 1.5
Number of years with the company: 16
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 10
Channel Madness Experience: Second tournament
Infrastructure – Round 2
Terry Richardson, HPE vs. Scott Dunsire, HPE
Tale of the Tape
Number of years in current channel chief role: 1
Number of years with the company: 6
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 22
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Number of years in current channel chief role: 3
Number of years with the company: 10
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 26
Channel Madness Experience: Second tournament
Hardware – Round 2
Bill Lipsin, NetApp vs. John Byrne, Dell EMC
Tale of the Tape
Number of years in current channel chief role: 1.5
Number of years with the company: 1.5
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 30
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Tenure in current channel chief role: 3 months
Number of years with the company: 1.75
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 17
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Hardware – Round 2
Sammy Kinlaw, Lenovo vs. Stephanie Dismore, HP
Tale of the Tape
Number of years in current channel chief role: 2
Number of years with the company: 24
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 13
Channel Madness Experience: Second tournament
Number of years in current channel chief role: 2
Number of years with the company: 18
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 18
Channel Madness Experience: Second tournament
Cloud – Round 2
Brooks McCorcle, AT&T vs. Eric Martorano, Intermedia
Tale of the Tape
Number of years in current channel chief role: 4
Number of years with the company: 26
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 4
Channel Madness Experience: Third tournament
Tenure in current channel chief role: 6 months
Tenure with the company: 6 months
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 23
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Cloud – Round 2
Janet Schijns, Verizon vs. Frank Rauch, VMware
Tale of the Tape
Tenure in current channel chief role: 8 months
Number of years with the company: 24
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 6
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Number of years in current channel chief role: 4.5
Number of years with the company: 4.5
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 15
Channel Madness Experience: Third tournament
Software - Round 2
Bill Swales, Oracle vs. Gavriella Schuster, Microsoft
Tale of the Tape
Number of years in current channel chief role: 1.5
Number of years with the company: 1.5
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 17
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Tenure in current channel chief role: 6 months
Number of years with the company: 20
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 23
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Software - Round 2
Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh, Salesforce vs. Kendra Krause, Sophos
Tale of the Tape
Number of years in current channel chief role: 3
Number of years with the company: 8
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 14
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament
Number of years in current channel chief role: 2
Number of years with the company: 4
Number of years involved with indirect sales: 19
Channel Madness Experience: First tournament