Dalyn Wertz, 'Queen of Relationships,' Is Leaving Comcast Business

Dalyn Wertz, a 10-year veteran of Comcast Business and a channel marketing pioneer, is leaving the cableco.

Wertz, executive director of indirect channel marketing, will depart the company Dec. 2, she confirmed to Channel Futures. Wertz in an interview with Channel Futures spoke highly of her time at Comcast Business but said the time had come for her to start a new journey. She said intends to take the rest of 2024 off and eventually return to a channel-focused company.

“I definitely want to stay in the channel and stay connected to the partner community," Wertz told Channel Futures. "I am looking forward to taking the rest of the year off, and focus on my family, spend time with friends – and slow down, breathe and enjoy life.”

Wertz has been working with Comcast Business' Solutions Advisor Program, which focuses on technology services distributors and technology advisors (agents). Comcast Business one year ago brought its indirect channel marketing and indirect channel operations teams into its respective corporate teams for marketing and sales operations. In that time, Comcast's agent/advisor program leader Craig Schlagbaum has left the company.

Channel Futures has reached out to Comcast Business for comment and has not received a response as of publication time.

Related:Partners: Craig Schlagbaum Made Comcast 'Consistent'

Channel partners, many of whom have worked with Wertz for the entire decade of her tenure at Comcast, said they will miss Wertz deeply.

Dalyn and her team played a pivotal role in the rapid rise and enduring success of the Comcast Business Partner Program for over a decade," IQ Wired CEO Darcee Nelan told Channel Futures. "With ten years dedicated to supporting agents in growing their businesses through innovative marketing campaigns and impactful events, Dalyn has developed a profound understanding of the Channel. She possesses an intimate awareness of the opportunities and challenges faced by technology advisors and leverages that insight to craft unique, actionable strategies that drive success."

Telarus co-founder Patrick Oborn pointed to Wertz' impact on the larger channel industry

"Dalyn was instrumental in helping Telarus, and our peers, grow our mutual cable and network practices. What many of us fail to realize is that there was a time where this 'marketing machine' of educational events, spiffs, and summits didn't exist. Every time we would bring an idea to her; she treated us like a true partner and looked for ways to help us realize our goals," Oborn said.

A Decade of Building

Wertz, a former StorageTek and Level 3 director of partner marketing, came to Comcast in 2014. She helped build a program that grew beyond $1 billion on revenue in approximately 11 years.

Related:AT&T Channel Veteran Chris Jones to Leave the Company

“10 years ago, we were in growth mode. We had a small team, and it was an incredible opportunity to architect what is now one of the largest and most respected programs in the industry," Wertz told Channel Futures. "And for 10 years, we've watched others try to replicate our success. We were constantly talking to partners, Listening and understanding what they needed and what we could do differently to drive more business.”

The Comcast Business indirect leadership in 2014. From left to right, Barry Williams, Scott Mull, Dalyn Wertz, Craig Schlagbaum and Cary Tengler

Channel Acuity managing partner Cary Tengler, who worked with Wertz for nine years at Comcast Business, credited her for her ability knowing how to champion both partners and her own company.

"We always put our best foot forward for the partners, because ultimately they're our customers. But I think at the same time, we never got caught up in the arms race of spiffs and way too much MDF," Tengler said. "... And I think what always impressed me about the way Dalyn managed the program was that it walked that fine line and found the balance between being good stewards for the company and advocates for the partners at the same time."

When partners learned of Craig Schlagbaum's departure last year, they remarked that he brought a consistency that was rare to channel programs in the world of MSOs and ILECs. Partners made the same remark describing Wertz' legacy.

Related:Sara Seegers Out as Lumen U.S. Channel Leader

“Partners don't like surprises. The ability to keep things simple and consistent is important, and it's also follow-through...," Wertz said. "We've all been in those meetings where there is a great plan, we shake hands and high-five each other, and then you never hear from anyone again. We were committed to making sure that we had that follow-through to drive the right results.”

CableFinder co-founder Jed Kenzy said Wertz "embodies relationships." Keeping the focus on relationships will serve Comcast Business well going forward, Kenzy said.

"I trust the leadership of [vice president and channel chief] Matt Fassnacht and where he's leading the channel. And I do hope that as Dalyn transitions out, corporate marketing at Comcast Business continues to understand the importance of the channel and that we are a relationship-driven business. Making sure that we have representation through channel-specific marketing is going to be important. I do believe Matt, [executive director of indirect channel] Albert (Krivopisk) and team will work to have that," Kenzy told Channel Futures.

(From left to right) Pari Knights, director of channel marketing at Flexential and Wertz' sister, Jed Kenzy, and Dalyn Wertz

Innovative Practices

Partners said Wertz' marketing team built practices that would influence many other suppliers in the channel. Comcast Business' adaptation to the pandemic in 2020 is an example.

"...When Covid hit and we all had to cancel our 2020 and 2021 events, we reached out to Dalyn and worked on a plan to virtualize our events, build a video studio, and provide alternative outlets for Telarus and our suppliers to reach our advisor community during that difficult time, all without seeing any slip in sales," Oborn said.

Tengler said the vendor's market development funds (MDF) program recently updated to focus on helping partners build their businesses.

"They made a pivot with their MDF program and said, 'Look, we're not going to just buy you logoed coffee cups and golf balls anymore. We're putting a program in place. But what we're going to do is invest in a branding and web relaunch for you,'" Tengler said.

Doug Cardozo, whose firm 3DG Partners works closely with Comcast, said Wertz broke the mold of a marketer.

"Normally you think of marketing people inside of an organization, you immediately relate that to events, right? But there's so many things above and beyond that that these organizations can do," Cardozo said.

When 3DG qualified for MDF, the firm didn't want to "pocket the cash" but rather wanted to "make it go as far as possible." Lacking a dedicated marketing person, 3DG came to Wertz and her team for their advice.

"We were still learning who we were. Dalyn ran an engagement with us to help us identify: what is our brand overall? It was a complete brand overhaul that was extremely strategic to our business, ranging in everything from the creation of a new logo, the recreation of our website, creation of marketing collateral and deliverables, case studies, but above and beyond that, it was understanding, 'What is our tone as a company, what is our brand, and then how do we embrace that?"

It was this in-depth discovery process Comcast Business embarked on with 3DG that "transformed our relationship," Cardozo said.

"Oftentimes, that level of partnership can be challenging, because most suppliers don't put enough skin in the game to learn who that partner is," he said. "They're learning about what their pipeline is, but they're not learning about who they are as people and who they are as an organization."

Community and Relationships

Wertz played an important role in establishing community within the channel, even between competitors.

She helped establish the annual Cable Party, hosted in conjunction with the Channel Partners Conference & Expo. That event brought together a several MSOs, TSDs and TAs to celebrate mutual success in cable sales.

Amy Bailey, founder of Unusually Unusual Consulting and a former marketing leader at Telarus, recalls Wertz' plan to host the Cable Marketing Summit with all the marketing teams from the TSDs.

The 2017 Cable Marketing Summit. Provided by Amy Bailey

"She figured we could all get together and talk about how to increase cable sales. We eyed each other suspiciously for the first 30 minutes since we were all competitors. After the first hour, we became friends and shared best practices," Bailey told Channel Futures. "Dalyn helped us realize we could work together and we would all grow. She saw the vision before we did. All we had to do was follow. She is a natural leader and a great sounding board for ideas. One of her superpowers is learning about each partner and then crafting a go-to-market strategy that fits their needs. She is the Queen of Relationships. She makes everyone she meets feel special."

Wertz said that if she takes anything out of her 10 years at Comcast, it's the friendships she maintains to this day.

“The channel is a family. We support each other through ups and downs. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I had at Comcast Business and the strong relationships I built. It's the biggest professional accomplishment of my career and I wouldn't change any of it," she said.

Cardoso said the connection with Dalyn "will transcend companies."

"It also transcends work. Dalyn's a person who's made a true, meaningful impact on us, not just professionally, but personally. And I look forward to the opportunity of getting to build with her again," he said.