Sophos Hires Dell SonicWall Exec as North America Sales Chief

Security vendor Sophos continued its 2013 roll by hiring John Keenan, a 13-year Dell (DELL) SonicWall veteran, to head its North America sales efforts.

Keenan’s background is marked by some 20 years of sales and management experience, most recently with Dell SonicWall, where, as North America sales vice president, he is credited with constructing a new mid-market focused sales organization and channel strategy, growing the business by building relationships with key channel partners.

With Sophos’ particular emphasis on growing its channel business, Keenan is a good fit to flesh out the security vendor’s sales strategy, said Michael Valentine, Sophos sales senior vice president.

“John Keenan is widely respected by the security channel, and I am thrilled to welcome him to Sophos,” said Valentine. “He brings a proven track record of success in the security space and has winning experience in leading channel and sales teams,” he said.

“Every day, the Sophos team is working hard to be the preferred vendor in security for the channel and customers. Our products, our people and our partner programs continue to gain industry accolades. In bringing John aboard, we have an ideal leader for continued growth in our North American business.”

For his part, Keenan said Sophos’ all-in channel sales strategy and execution lured him away from his prior post.

“The company’s relentless focus on empowering the channel, a best-in-class portfolio of endpoint, mobile, server and network solutions, and the opportunity to contribute to Mike Valentine’s winning team made my decision to join Sophos an easy one,” he said.

In the last few months, Sophos has filled key channel and sales slots, hiring Kendra Krause away from rival Fortinet (FTNT) in April as its Americas channels chief to improve channel programs and partner enablement, tapping Karen Delaney, a former Acer, IBM (IBM) and Dell SonicWall channel strategist, as its Australia and New Zealand channel chief, and, in February bringing Valentine on from Fortinet to run its global sales operation.

Valentine specializes in channel building and intends to boost Sophos sales in North America, contending that the company boasts the proper products, has shored up its channel program and, with new management, can significantly up its presence.