Flash Maker Violin Names Former EMC, NetApp Exec as New Channel Chief

Flash array provider Violin Memory (VMEM), hoping to pump up its channel sales, has named Jeff Nollette, a 30-year industry veteran and former EMC (EMC) and NetApp (NTAP) executive, to oversee its partner initiatives as channel sales vice president.

Nolette, just off a seven-month stint as Egnyte channel sales vice president, is tasked with broadening Violin’s channel program and its go-to-market strategy. In addition, he will be responsible for providing strategic counsel to the sales and channel teams, boosting distribution through Violin’s Global System Integrators, promoting awareness of the vendor’s channel partner program and helping partners to uncover sales and market growth opportunities.

In his new role, Nolette succeeds Ken Hoppe, who exited in April. He will report to Tom Mitchell, Violin Global Field Operations president.

“Jeff’s combination of enterprise storage industry acumen and channel expertise is invaluable, and he is a welcomed asset to the team,” said Mitchell. “The insight he will provide to strengthen our channel programs and expand global distribution strategies will be instrumental in driving key alliances and increasing revenue opportunities for our channel partners.”

Prior to his short time at Egnyte, Nollette managed EMC’s National Partner Program as channel sales senior director. He also served for 10 years at NetApp in program and business development as Global Systems Integrators senior director.

“Violin is at the forefront of the flash technology revolution, and extremely well-positioned to drive the move to an all-flash data center,” said Nollette.

“The combination of best-in-class performance, enterprise data services supporting all-flash arrays and the competitive pricing, compared to disk, make Violin the industry leader in this exciting new area of storage evolution,” he said. “Our channel partners will make a lot of customers happy and a lot of money as we grow our respective businesses together.”