The 100 People You Don’t Know But Should 2021
These unsung channel heroes helped keep their companies and channel partners on track amid the massive and sudden shift to work from home, accelerated timelines for digital transformation and global supply chain disruptions that kept everyone guessing.
When it comes to building a bleeding-edge channel strategy, technology vendors constantly have to commit to providing the resources and support their partners need to grow and thrive.
Often that takes the form of building strong teams that include people to manage inventive channel programs, bring creativity to channel marketing campaigns and build technical training programs to keep partners one step ahead.
And when times get tough, investments in those kinds of channel management team members become even more important in building trust with partners and keeping channel sales on track.
While some channel executives are familiar faces, many are not. In fact, a vast majority work tirelessly behind the scenes to support their partners without ever being recognized by the channel at large.
CRN’s 100 People You Don’t Know But Should spotlights some of the channel’s best and brightest people who may not be as visible as some channel chiefs or CEOs but are just as important to the partner community.
These unsung channel heroes helped keep their companies and channel partners on track amid the massive and sudden shift to work from home, accelerated timelines for digital transformation and global supply chain disruptions that kept everyone guessing.
(By company name)
Peter Giardino
Sr. Director, Cloud Sales
Acronis
With years of cloud and channel experience under his belt, Giardino drives a team of seasoned partner account managers for Acronis, mentoring several up-and-comers along the way. He leverages his own strong personal brand and long-term relationships to help the company get a leg up.
Lauren Gotlib
Partner Development Manager, AWS Public Sector
Amazon Web Services
Gotlib ensures that strategic partners receive the key program resources, tools and support they need to grow their AWS business. She is described as having a “learn and be curious” attitude as well as a “bias for action,” which have benefited partners as they expand their portfolios and attain new competencies.
Mark Nehring
NSP Channel Leader
AMD
Nehring joined AMD in May and is responsible for relationships with some of the biggest solution providers in the U.S., bringing to bear his considerable experience building and mentoring sales teams from previous channel roles at HP, Dell Technologies, Seagate and Oracle.
Anderson Hackney Brown
Director, Channels
AppDynamics, part of Cisco
With a strong background in health-care and retail verticals from her previous roles at Cisco, Hackney Brown is now helping lead the channel charge at its AppDynamics application performance management business. She’s also made it her mission to mentor next-generation leader
Clay Speckmiear
Director, North America Channel Sales
AppRiver, a Zix company
Speckmiear joined AppRiver in April and is leaning on his trove of experience developing strategic sales initiatives, uncovering new business opportunities and executing growth plans as he helps drive channel sales for the company’s cloud-enabled security and productivity services.
Jamie Bourne
Channel Marketing Manager
Arctic Wolf
Bourne spearheads partner program promotion and incentive strategy for Arctic Wolf, with a big focus on the company’s national partners. Solution providers laud the creativity Bourne brings to Arctic Wolf’s promotion program as well as her work fine-tuning the prize selection, structure and qualifying criteria.
Ksenia Gulyakina
Sr. Marketing Manager, Demand Generation
Area 1 Security
Gulyakina drives Area 1’s email marketing campaign process from asset creation to the actual sending of emails, handling everything from campaign emails to webinar invites to event promotion. She’s had a big role in helping Area 1 grow in the channel by expanding the company’s solution provider contact list.
Olivia (White) Jolliffe
Marketing Specialist, North America Campaigns
Arrow Electronics
At Arrow, Jolliffe has a reputation for being quick to jump in and help wherever it’s needed, and is always happy to do it. She’s also won praise for being a master wordsmith who can take any channel partner’s marketing message and make it sound even better.
Carla Boyling
Canadian Channel Director
Aruba, an HPE Company
With Aruba partners pivoting toward a cloud-first approach, Boyling has been instrumental in driving the national strategy for delivering networking as a service, flexible financing and marketing efforts for solution providers. She’s also winning praise for helping partners achieve growth through the pandemic.
David Becker
Director, Channel Marketing, Product Enablement, Partner Solutions
AT&T
A 14-year AT&T veteran who has a passion for channel partners, Becker is praised as a marketing champion for the carrier’s wireline product initiatives aimed at expanding its portfolio as well as promotions and pricing actions to enable channel growth.
Ben Nowacky
SVP, Product
Axcient
Nowacky is putting his extensive technical chops to good use managing engineering and security for Axcient as the company pushes out innovations such as a local cache addition to its x360Recover Direct to Cloud offering, which he said takes the best of appliance-based backups and eliminates “kludginess” and expense.
Rachel Barnett
Sr. Manager, National Channel, Field Operations
Barracuda Networks
As a long-time member of Barracuda Networks’ channel organization, Barnett handles day-to-day escalations in sales processes to make sure the company is operating as efficiently as possible. She is described by colleagues as “the backbone of our team,” who add “it would be hard to function without her.”
Paula Enache
Worldwide Digital Partner Program Manager
Bitdefender
Enache has led Bitdefender’s transition of its existing marketing processes into the company’s unified channel marketing automation tool. She ensured the best marketing experience for channel partners, helping them easily find the marketing resources they need to generate more leads.
Tina Patel
Sr. Manager, North America Partner Marketing
Broadcom
Patel’s superpower is connecting and building trusted relationships with solution providers, who rave about what a great business partner she is as she works with them to build effective marketing programs. She also played a key role in the buildout of a new MDF program.
David Fisher
Senior Sales Manager, VAR Channel
Brother USA
An experienced channel marketing and sales management leader who has routinely exceeded sales targets, Fisher leads sales development for Brother document imaging solutions through the VAR/MSP channel. He’s known for his ability to analyze and present the business case for marketing spend.
Lauren Ventura
Head of Channel Marketing
Check Point Software Technologies
Ventura has led the charge to find new ways to communicate with partners, including best-in-class newsletters, executive calls and advisory forums. She excels at finding creative ways to go to market and improve demand generation and is praised for her work ethic and pursuit of excellence.
Brian Overmyer
Sr. Manager, Partner Programs
Cisco Systems
Overmyer has been the driving force behind the development of the new Cisco Partner Program, the most significant change to its programs in over a decade. He also has run the vendor’s competency teams and is responsible for foundational programs that help partners build a Cisco practice.
Tiffany Person
National Account Manager
Citrix Systems
Winner of the Citrix U.S. Public Sector M V P award in 2020, Person is credited with changing the vendor’s relationship with national partners, developing new strategies and expanding executive dialogue. Implementing a structure around co-selling, she drove significant growth and helped customers see the value of Citrix solutions.
Jennifer Miller
Director, Global Distribution
Cohesity
Miller’s focus is on scaling Cohesity’s distribution network globally, a critical role when it comes to on-boarding, enabling and helping partners grow their business with the 100 percent channel company. Her vast experience has been key to helping the vendor develop important distribution programs.
Anne Aalders
Sr. Director, Partner Support
Comcast Business
A consummate professional, Aalders leads her team fearlessly to ensure channel orders remain on track. She has a network of contacts across the country that she leverages when the need arises and has built the trust and confidence of leaders across the company.
Ty Rottare
VP, Global Channels
Comm100 Network
Comm100 in August said its global partner program has grown 93 percent this year, with a pipeline that is on track to double 2020’s revenue by December. Credit Rottare’s strategy of making sure the vendor’s services fit its partners’ mold “instead of fitting them into ours” in large part for that success.
Tully Cento
Director, Americas Partner Sales
Commvault
Since joining Commvault two years ago, Cento has increased the level of partner enablement with strategic and improved enablement sessions, streamlined the partner business planning process, and increased efficient use of partner marketing funds to ensure all dollars are being maximized.
Connie Arentson
Program Manager
ConnectWise
Arentson finds tremendous fulfillment in guiding the execution of ConnectWise IT Nation’s peer membership programs, helping MSPs strengthen their business and reach their goals through shared knowledge that helps them adapt and grow, while learning best practices for future success.
Mary Lehane
Director, Global Alliances Operations
CrowdStrike
Lehane has streamlined and automated many existing internal and external processes to make it easier to partner with CrowdStrike. She played a key role in the revamping and relaunching the Elevate Partner Program, working tirelessly to make partnering with CrowdStrike as smooth and efficient as possible.
Damon Kegerise
Director, Cloud Vendor Management, Operations
D&H Distributing
Kegerise is an invaluable resource for channel partners looking for advice on navigating Microsoft’s partner programs, and he laid the foundation for the distributor’s Device-as-a-Service program, which has evolved into the current Everything-as-a-Service delivery model
Catherine Garrett
Project Manager, Marketing
Datto
Garrett is responsible for the planning and execution of Datto’s hosted events, including DattoCon. As the world shifted to virtual events, she was critical in planning the vendor’s MSP Tech Days, Discover Dattos and Datto Partner Summits, helping to bring its channel ecosystem together.
Lisa Ortiz
Channel Sales Director, Dell EMC
Dell Technologies
Ortiz began her Dell career as a factory worker and moved her way up into a channel leadership role, so she knows the business from all sides. Known for being proactive, inclusive and results-focused, her “art-of-the-possible” brand of leadership has contributed to her years of strong performance.
Rick Trobman
President, Technology Solutions Global Business Unit
DLL Group
Trobman helps OEMs and the channel fund technology sales in over 30 countries with branded and white-label financing and leasing. He’s enabling solution providers to sell more products and services through the ability to spread out the cost of IT investments, including as-a-service and consumption-based payment options.
Darren McGeorge
Manager, Marketing, Sales
Dynabook
McGeorge is the driving force behind Dynabook’s partner programs. His ability to seamlessly manage a wide variety of tasks including MDF, inventory, pricing, reseller relations, training and program benefits for the Preferred Partner Program is a key part of the company’s channel growth strategy.
Sussan McLoughlin
Channel Marketing Manager
Eaton
McLoughlin turned heads by tapping into her boundless energy, enthusiasm and efficiency to transform her role. She has enhanced the established relationships with Eaton partners and was a key contributor to the sales growth that it saw in 2020.
Yatia “Tia” Hopkins
VP, Cyber Risk Advisory, Solutions Architecture
eSentire
Hopkins works diligently to enable eSentire’s customers and partners to really understand the value of the company’s solution, how it works and what differentiates it from the competition. She focuses not only on current problems, but also looks for ways to address future issues and strengthen relationships.
Vanessa Delrieu
VP, Finance, Operations
Exclusive Networks
As Exclusive Networks partners faced the challenges of credit and cash flow during the onset of COVID-19, Delrieu responded with ingenuity and compassion, working with them one on one to find a solution and help keep them operational despite the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.
Braiden Ludtka
Channel Marketing Manager
ExtraHop Networks
Ludtka won kudos for creatively “gamifying” ExtraHop’s channel sales incentive program and creating memorable experiences for sales teams to earn. She also worked to overhaul its Panorama Partner Portal and created a more user-friendly tool partners can use to expand the ExtraHop solutions they sell.
John Barger
VP, Worldwide Sales Enablement, Engineering
Extreme Networks
Barger implemented training and certification program for Extreme Networks sales, technology partners and employees, and he also led the development of the Dojo certification program, which is lauded for being easy and accessible. His behind-the-scenes efforts help Extreme’s channel program run smoothly.
Navin Tallam
Manager, Channel Operations/ Deals Desk, USA, Canada
Fortinet
Tallam earlier this year started leading Fortinet’s channel deals desk, where he has been charged with managing partner conflict and deal registration. On the channel operations side, he has been critical to integrating thousands of new Fortinet partners into its reporting and partner management systems.
Susan Huber
Head of Policy, Governance, Global Partner Programs
Google Cloud
As she drives channel policy, rules of engagement, channel sales contracts and enterprise agreements, Huber is known for always wanting to do right by partners and ensuring clarity, simplicity and equality for the Google Cloud channel. She’s a tireless partner advocate who’s only satisfied when partners are profitable.
Kathleen Walsh
Director, Tech Pro, Channel Enablement, Storage Enablement
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
A pro at bringing partners the tools they need to succeed, Walsh drove the custom learning program offered by HPE Sales Pro. She also spearheaded the launch of the HPE Sales Pro Learning Center and was a key figure in the development of HPE’s Storage Ranger program.
Theresa Garcia
Sr. Global Alliance Manager, Global Partners, Alliances
Hitachi Vantara
Garcia has a long history of successful business development, go-to-market strategy and sales enablement prowess that she now brings to bear managing strategic alliances for Hitachi Vantara, where she is responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue stream.
Mary Beth Walker
Head of Global Channel Strategy
HP Inc.
Walker helped develop and launch Amplify, the company’s overhauled partner program, which features a revamped compensation structure and bigger focus on rewards for data collaboration, among other changes. She is described as “a tireless advocate for partner intelligence and partner and customer satisfaction.”
John Hammond
Sr. Cybersecurity Researcher
Huntress
Hammond protects SMBs through state-of-the-art threat hunting, where he actively locates, analyzes and mitigates security threats MSPs face on a daily basis. He was on the frontlines for the Kaseya ransomware attack and become the go-to source for MSPs needing to know how to keep their lights on.
Amy Simeone
Security Channel Manager, U.S. VADs
IBM
A 10-year tech veteran, Simeone is known for bringing energy, expertise and credibility to her role, which is becoming increasingly critical as the need for the channel to build strong cybersecurity solutions skyrockets. She prides herself on maximizing productivity and delivering results.
Carl Gersh
VP, North America Marketing
IGEL
Gersh is considered a talented, results-producing marketing professional whose recent projects include the “Made in the Shade” lead generation campaign for partners and a fitness-related giveaway called “All Gain. No Pain.” He’s also known for injecting humor into online events and webinars.
Donald Scott
Director, Emerging Business Group
Ingram Micro
Scott ferrets out the hidden gems and brings those emerging vendors into the Ingram Micro fold, helping them by doing the heavy lifting around technical alignment, partner programs, support and enablement so channel partners can engage with confidence.
Jennifer Bossin
Sr. Director, IoT Partner Scale, U.S. Region
Intel
Described as “a source of strength, encouragement and learning” for colleagues, Bossin leads an Intel team that supports solution provider partners building cutting-edge IoT solutions. As she has grown into her role, she’s built up her team and now has five direct reports.
Adam Klodner
VP, Application Development
IntelePeer
Partners in need of solution execution support often come to Klodner, who’s “always willing to go the extra mile.” He is quick to jump into a session with partners to talk through challenges and best practices to help optimize the solutions they are building on the IntelePeer platform, giving them a better chance of success.
Shea Kopelman
Sr. Channel Marketing Manager
Intermedia
Kopelman increased Intermedia’s distributor partner engagement by 55 percent year over year and won kudos for creative projects such as building new partner welcome kits. She has the reputation for owning things end to end to ensure they get done.
Veronica Lopez
Inside Account Liason
Intuit
After nine-plus years, Lopez is among Intuit’s most tenured inside account managers and is described as “an absolutely invaluable part of the team.” Over the past year, Lopez has impressed colleagues with her ability to grow and adapt, exceeding their high expectations.
Esther Kim
Business Operation Manager, Global Distribution
Juniper Networks
Winning kudos as “the rising star of the distribution team” at Juniper, where she is instrumental in driving and executing business strategies, Kim has cultivated a reputation as a go-to person that can be relied on while at the same time displaying a positive attitude that others find inspiring.
Will Bishop
Sr. Director, Channel
Kaseya
Kaseya partners are “always in great hands” when Bishop—a former MSP himself—is tapped to lend his subject matter expertise and collaborate on go-to-market strategies. MSPs report a high success rate when he helps them with their webinars.
Lisa Kilpatrick
Head of B2B Sales
Kaspersky Lab
In Kilpatrick’s nearly six years at Kaspersky, she has held multiple sales and channel positions and is responsible for cybersecurity sales in the SMB and B2B business segments. She unified the internal North American team to drive SMB sales, and continues to exceed company expectations for channel revenue growth.
Stephen Harwanko
Partner Insights Leader
Lenovo
Described by one colleague as a true “unsung channel hero” for Lenovo, Harwanko was one of the driving forces that brought Lenovo’s innovative Partner Hub to partners. The 10-year Lenovo veteran has dramatically improved the partner experience and delivered better analytics to drive partner sales growth.
Doug Frazier
Manager, North America Channel Telesales
Lexmark
Frazier oversees three targeted inside sales teams and has helped propel the printer maker to new channel heights. The U.S. Army Reserve veteran’s leadership has earned him channel sales manager of year honors and high praise from partners for helping grow their business.
Kendrics Hawkins
Director, Partner Success
Liongard
A onetime MSP operations manager, Hawkins has used that first-hand experience to help make Liongard a red-hot automation platform for MSPs. MSPs say Hawkins’ tireless efforts to improve the partner experience with best-in-class training and engineering support have proven to be a game-changer.
Shyanne Pozon
Channel Enablement Manager
LogicMonitor
Pozon has been instrumental in helping partners take advantage of more of the robust features of LogicMonitor’s cloud-based infrastructure monitoring platform. She has dramatically upped the company’s partner training game, which has led to faster time to sales for partners.
Danny Benedetti
Director, Inside Sales
Lumen Technologies
The 21-year Lumen channel sales veteran has been the driving force in a no-holds-barred effort to help partners achieve sales growth working hand in hand with a robust insides sales team. Benedetti’s channel fire, passion and energy have inspired partners as well as the Lumen team.
Lisa Sussman
National Channel Development Manager
Masergy
You can’t get better than this tribute to enterprise sales veteran Sussman from a respected colleague: “She loves to coach partners, sell side by side with them and also advocate for her partners to help them win deals, all with enthusiasm to overcome any roadblocks.”
Kristol Johnson
Manager, Global Sales Development
McAfee
Johnson has been a force in the McAfee Device to Cloud Suites initiative that is delivered with partner services. The high-energy, 18-year McAfee veteran is also an active member of McAfee’s Women in Security, African Heritage Community and founder and CEO of the INcourager, a mental wellness company.
Karen Fassio
Director, Worldwide Partner Marketing
Microsoft
Fassio, a 22-year Microsoft marketing whiz, is taking partner digital marketing efforts to new heights. Her expertise in all things Microsoft has been a game-changer for partners. She is also admired for her advocacy for inclusivity as co-founder and steering chair of Women in Cloud.
Sara Harold
Sr. Channel Marketing Manager
Mimecast
A digital marketing powerhouse with deep channel knowledge, Harold has helped power big sales gains for Mimecast national partners. She also gets high marks from colleagues for driving channel breakthroughs on strategy and alliances. She’s a channel force widely admired by partners and colleagues.
Avital Cohen
Sr. Partners Enablement Team Lead
monday.com
Cohen has raised the bar across all of monday.com’s channel efforts. One of her biggest accomplishments is driving breakthroughs in partner on-boarding and training with the Partner Academy certification program. She also brings new meaning to monday.com’s Work Without Limits tagline.
Tyler McDonald
Director, Business Development
N-Able
McDonald is the driving force behind N-able’s Technology Alliance Program through which the company expands its services portfolio with innovative IT from Microsoft, Cisco and others. Ever the MSP advocate, McDonald ups the value proposition by calling on TAP members to provide incentives for MSPs.
Monia de Rambures
Worldwide Channel Program Manager
NetApp
De Rambures knows that the quality of the partner experience is critical. With multiple major transformations at NetApp this past year, she worked to ensure that all parties were focused on the partner experience and were maintaining high levels of excellence in MDF and partner education.
Rina Doering
Channel Sales Manager, Southeast Region
Nextiva
Doering has gained attention by working with partners to close large strategic opportunities and expand their presence within big-name accounts in the Southeastern U.S. Her expertise in cloud unified communications, VoIP, business communications software and related technologies is key to that success.
Elizabeth Kim
Sr. Manager, Global Channel Marketing Programs
Nutanix
When Kim joined Nutanix four years ago she began helping to build the company’s worldwide channel marketing operations. Today she leverages her strategic and tactical B2B marketing expertise to provide partners with sales skills and enablement resources and educate them about new hybrid and multi-cloud technologies.
Geoff Fancher
Head of Worldwide Distribution
Nvidia
Fancher leads Nvidia’s global distribution strategy and go-to-market teams. In his four years at Nvidia, he has redefined the company’s distribution models, adding value-added distribution to its channel operations and recruiting some of the most important global data center distribution partners.
Bronzon Leen
Sr. Manager, Strategy, Operations
Okta
Five years in his current post, Leen has played a major role in the success of Okta’s partner organization. Building on his finance background, he has become an expert in many facets of the channel and leverages that expertise to move forward in partner community, infrastructure and back-end processes.
Jennifer Schulze
VP, Channel, Field Marketing
OpenText
Schulze joined OpenText earlier this year, charged with leading the company’s channel and field marketing teams on a worldwide basis. Leveraging her more than 20 years of experience at SAP, GE and Epicor, she recruits best-in-class partners and drives partner success through education and lead generation.
Harold Grisamore
Director, Services Sales Americas
Palo Alto Networks
Helping solution providers build services around a company’s products is key to success in the channel. Grisamore, in more than six years of services and channel enablement work at Palo Alto Networks, has been instrumental in helping partners establish their own security services practices.
Jamil Eman King
National Sales Manager, U.S. Distribution, DMR Teams
Panasonic USA
With years of sales and distribution experience to his credit, King is the driving force behind Panasonic USA’s rapid distributor and direct market reseller channel growth. His focus on sales enablement as well as program and process optimization has improved product availability and ship times.
Brandon Christensen
Channel Development Manager
Park Place Technologies
Christensen joined Park Place in May, bringing his nearly 13 years of sales and business development experience at SHI International to the data center services provider. Success, he says, requires a combination of people, process and technology together with a passion for delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Jordan Saylor
Director, Channel Programs
Pax8
With a reputation for being detail-oriented and unafraid to take risks, Saylor is responsible for Pax8’s education and enablement events, Mission Briefings, Bootcamps and other programs that provide partners with advanced solutions knowledge. She was promoted to her current role in January.
Chevon Martin Khan
Director, Operations
PlanetOne
In Martin Khan’s two-plus years at PlanetOne, she has been tapping into her strong listening skills and collaborative nature to make improvements across nearly every facet of the organization and introducing new ways to engage and enable the company’s partners and providers.
Pat Piwowarczyk
Head of Channel Business Development
Poly
Piwowarczyk is an integral part of Poly’s channel team, embracing the partner community and navigating the many “tricky steps” it takes to enable growth for global systems integrators. He joined Polycom in 2017 before the acquisition, bringing his 20-plus years of channel sales and marketing experience with him.
Tony Booth
Sr. Director, Channel Sales Engineering
Proofpoint
Booth is a go-to source for technical know-how for the many solution providers throughout Proofpoint’s partner ecosystem. He strives to enable partners to be as self-sufficient as possible throughout the sales cycle, helping educate them on people-centric security practices.
Smiti Mohan
Partner Program Manager
Pure Storage
Described as invaluable to Pure Storage’s Americas partner organization, Mohan is the company’s dedicated channel operations partner, supporting the entire team with innovation, creativity and enthusiasm. She was promoted to her current role in April after four-plus years with the company.
Jennifer Heard
Global VP, Midmarket Sales
Red Hat
Heard is constantly seeking out new ways to unlock business opportunities with Red Hat in the midmarket while leveraging partners. She joined the company in January, bringing a wealth of experience after three-plus years as channel chief of Turbonomic and 20-plus years with Microsoft.
Michael Day
Sr. Director, Global Partner Sales
RingCentral
Day has been an instrumental part of building and developing RingCentral’s Territory Partner Manager and Partner Account Manager organizations, where his touch has been felt in the U.S., the Philippines and throughout Europe. Taking their cues from him, his teams are known to thrive consistently as they find new ways to support partners.
Sofia Tulchinsky
VP, Alliances, Channels Strategy
Salesforce
As the head of one of Salesforce’s most critical teams within its partner organization, Tulchinsky leads resource allocation, territory management, business reporting and strategic initiatives. Her teams win kudos for consistently providing high levels of service while focusing on strategic and operational excellence.
Summer Recchi
Partner Enablement Lead
SAP Leading
SAP’s partner enablement and channel development teams means that Recchi strengthens the ecosystem behind the scenes and collaborates with partner management, sales, demand management and line-of-business teams. Best practices instilled by her team are expected to have a positive impact for years to come.
Michael Patterson
Director, North American Sales
Scale Computing
Patterson took on his current role in August and has become known as a main driver of Scale Computing’s “partner-first” commitment to being a 100 percent channel company. He coaches the field sales team on growing regions through strategic partnerships and a mutually beneficial channel network.
Gail Fredrickson
Director, Channel Marketing, Strategic Execution
Schneider Electric
Fredrickson is a key behind-the-scenes contributor with responsibilities that have included projects to optimize back-office processes for partners, as well as the implementation of partner-friendly updates for Schneider Electric’s channel program. She is described as the “ultimate team player.”
Brian Kroneman
Sr. Director, Worldwide Channel Programs, Strategy
SentinelOne
A key player in helping to drive the channel program at SentinelOne for the past four years—during which time the company went from a small player in cybersecurity to a publicly traded leader in the space— Kroneman since March has been focused on shaping the company’s channel strategy.
Luke Calabrese
Enablement, Process Manager, Partner Sales
SherWeb
Calabrese is responsible for bringing crucial tools and knowledge to partners, particularly around improving productivity. Key parts of his role include working with partners to streamline their business. He also brings a deep understanding of the Microsoft ecosystem that ultimately benefits SherWeb’s partners as well.
Wayne Wilkening
Sales Engineering Leader
SonicWall
A 16-year veteran of SonicWall, Wilkening’s responsibilities have included hiring, managing and enabling presales channel and territory engineers. A key initiative he helped drive was the creation of enablement content that is used at road shows for the partner community.
Moe Askar
Sr. Director, Americas Channels
Sophos
As a central figure overseeing the Americas channel, Askar is credited with significantly growing the national partner business through efforts such as creating cross-selling campaigns—helping partners to detect the best opportunities for new product sales—and scaling margin enhancement programs across the partner base.
Mike Biondi
Sr. Manager, Channel Sales Engineering
Spectrum Enterprise
Known for always going the extra mile to help his team at Spectrum Enterprise, Biondi is a key behind-the-scenes player helping to generate new sales and find ways for his team to deliver. He combines this willingness to help with a deep understanding of the needs of partners to help drive their success.
Christian Gonzalez
Director, Global Partner GTM Strategy, Operations
Splunk
As the head of strategy and operations for Splunk’s global partner ecosystem—and someone with 12 years of IT industry experience across Splunk, AWS, HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise—Gonzalez excels at crafting key data-driven strategies and compelling frameworks for going to market with partners.
Barry Hughes
Territory Manager
StorageCraft Technology
During his five years at StorageCraft, Hughes has made a name for himself within the channel organization as a channel manager—and now territory manager—who will go above and beyond the normal expectations when it comes to treating partners well and building close relationships with them.
Sonya Witcher
Sr. Manager Business Development, Networking
Synnex (now TD Synnex)
Witcher, who is a 15-year veteran of Synnex, is known within her organization for her prowess in coaching her team on bringing a customer-first mentality above all else. This focus on Synnex customers—which include resellers and retail customers—has earned her accolades from customers and vendors alike.
Lisa McGarvey
Director, Solution Development, Vertical Markets, IoT, Data Solutions, Americas
Tech Data (now TD Synnex)
McGarvey does the critical work behind-the-scenes to identify multi-vendor solutions that are ready for the market and the channel. Her efforts include the copious research required to create industry blueprints, reference architectures and vendor marketing programs—ultimately saving significant amounts of time and money for partners.
Lisa Harrup Mieuli
VP, Marketing
Tenable
Harrup Mieuli brings 20-plus years of marketing experience with several leading IT vendors to Tenable where she is the executive sponsor for the company’s first global virtual partner event, Tenable AssureWorld. She also develops partner-focused global programs and leads global partner marketing teams.
Liz Dinan
Marketing Manager
ThreatLocker
Dinan is an up-and-comer both at ThreatLocker and in IT, and s o m e o n e t o watch in the future. She is focused on developing and implementing ThreatLocker’s marketing program, ensures all events and campaigns run smoothly, and provides educational resources for partners to help them more effectively bring security to clients.
Tricia Treacy
National Cloud Strategy Manager
Trend Micro
Treacy brings a wealth of channel experience to her role at Trend Micro, having spent almost five years at CDW. Treacy was a big part of Trend Micro becoming the first ISV to close an AWS Marketplace consulting partner private offers opportunity, and was appointed Trend Micro’s first national cloud strategy manager.
Zack Schwartz
VP, Channels
Trustifi
Schwartz went all out to help launch Trustifi’s new channel l program this year, helping assemble resources including self-paced sales training, online tools, MDF incentives as well as virtual training labs to teach partners about the company’s approach to cybersecurity.
Lindsey Legacki
Sr. Manager, Partner Marketing Programs
Veeam Software
Legacki has spent nearly all her IT career at Veeam. She is focused on bringing Veeam’s partners the industry’s most compelling programs, looking at where those programs can be improved, and tailoring solutions to customers’ cloud data management requirements.
Alex Johnson
Director, National Channel Accounts
Vertiv
Johnson is a proven advocate for Vertiv’s channel partners. He has spent his entire career so far in the IT power and cooling industry, including with Vertiv and its top competitor, and it shows in his ability to work with his marketing colleagues to find new ways to provide the maximum support for partners.
Richard Steeves
Sr. Director, Lifecycle Services
VMware
Steeves is a long-time partner advocate for VMware and plays a key role in shaping VMware’s partner ecosystem. He was the behind-the-scenes architect of the VMware Partner Connect channel program, which launched in early 2020, and continues enhancing the program while defining the company’s partner life-cycle services strategy.
Vilas Belagodu
Sr. Director, Partner, Product Management
Wasabi Technologies
In the nearly three years Belagodu has been at Wasabi, he has become the go-to person for helping partners certify the software technologies they use to work with Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage. Belagodu helps channel partners integrate the Wasabi Account Management API into their customer billing and provisioning platforms.
Jennifer Reid
Regional Field Marketing Director, North America
WatchGuard Technologies
Reid has spent the past six years engaged in security industry marketing. She leads the development and execution of WatchGuard’s field marketing strategies and played a major role in bringing the newly acquired Panda Security portfolio to the WatchGuardOne partner program, which was done in less than a year.
Kevin Thomsen
North America Channel Sales Lead
Zoom Video Communications
A veteran sales leader in the communications space, Thomsen now leads Zoom’s channel push via relationships with master agents, resellers, distributors and referral partners. He helps them build their unified communications business for customers looking at ways to conduct business in remote and hybrid work environments.