Meet Channel Futures’ Top Distribution Channel Leaders for 2022
Our seventh and final Channel Leaders of the Year list highlights some of the biggest names in the industry.
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Name: Eric Asquino
Job Title: Founder and President at ACS Cloud Partners
Tenure in Role: 21 years
Responsibilities: Oversees all aspects of the company
Previous Experience: Teligent
Key Accomplishment: Three-time Inc. 5000 honoree (ACS), GoToConnect Contact Center Pro (ACS),
What Makes Him a Leader: Has built a nimble communications distributor with a base of more than 80 providers and 1,000 agents
Name: Micah Bevitz
Job Title: Founder and CEO at iTelecom
Tenure in Role: 15 years
Responsibilities: Oversees all aspects of the company
Previous Experience: KERN Telemanagement, Vector Marketing
Key Accomplishment: Built a transparent, tiered model for partners
What Makes Him a Leader: An evangelist for end-customer support
Name: Robert Bowling
Job Title: Founder and CEO at TDM
Tenure in Role: 24 years
Responsibilities: Coaching employees, overseeing relationships with suppliers and partners
Previous Experience: N/A
Key Accomplishment: Outreach Technology’s “Agent of the Decade”
What Makes Him a Leader: Outspoken in peer-to-peer exchanges with other partners. Made channel history with TDM’s successful lawsuit against Birch for unpaid communications.
Name: Vince Bradley
Job Title: Founder and CEO at Abundant IoT
Tenure in Role: 18 months
Responsibilities: Overall leadership of company
Previous Experience: Addtel Communication, WTG, AppSmart
Key Accomplishment: 2016 Channel Futures Circle of Excellence
What Makes Him a Leader: Launched one of the channel’s first TSDs. Has opened up opportunities for partners to earn evergreen commissions on IoT.
Name: Alex Danyluk
Job Title: Chief Strategy Officer and Avant Analytics Managing Director at Avant
Tenure in Role: 6 years
Responsibilities: Leads the company’s strategic growth initiatives, including the vendor partner program, channel expansion and marketing.
Previous Experience: AT&T, Dantis, Qwest, Microsoft, Odin, Parallels
Key Accomplishment: 2019 Channel Futures Circle of Excellence
What Makes Him a Leader: Is helping lead Avant’s push toward a data-first approach by spearheading its cutting-edge research division.
Name: John DeLozier
Job Title: President at Intelisys, a ScanSource Company
Tenure in Role: 1 year and 6 months
Responsibilities: Oversees ScanSource’s agency practice
Previous Experience: ACT, Cross Telecom, Arrow S3, Virsae, Unify, CenturyLink, 8×8
Key Accomplishment: Channel Futures Circle of Excellence, 2020 Channel Influencer of the Year
What Makes Him a Leader: A seasoned channel professional who brings experience from all three levels of the channel (partner, TSD and vendor), and whom peers praise as relationally-driven and one of the kindest in the industry.
Name: Kelly Forsyth
Job Title: Chief Revenue Officer at IQ Wired
Tenure in Role: 7 years
Responsibilities: Oversees all channel managers and revenue-generating activity
Previous Experience: CCRA, Eschelon Telecom, Integrat Telecom
Key Accomplishment: 2020 Comcast Business Agent of the Year (IQ Wired)
What Makes Her a Leader: Known for results-oriented sales leadership and enthusiastic mentorship to channel women
Name: Shane Fugazy
Job Title: Vice President of Sales and Strategic Partnerships at Innovative Business Solutions
Tenure in Role: 4 years
Responsibilities: Oversees sales teams, business development, relationships with strategic partners and the overall agent experience.
Previous Experience: Comcast Business
Key Accomplishment: Multiple Inc. 5000 appearances, 2020 Visionary Award from the Cable Awards (Innovative Business Solutions)
What Makes Him a Leader: Lauded by partners, suppliers and employees for high responsiveness and advocacy for the customer experience
Name: Michael Gottwalt
Job Title: Vice President of Cloud Solution Sales and Enablement at Jenne
Tenure in Role: 3 months
Responsibilities: Growing internal and partner-driven market share
Previous Experience: Telarus, Broadvoice
Key Accomplishment: Built one of Telarus’ most successful agents before joining the TSB
What Makes Him a Leader: Brings experience from the agent, supplier and distribution sides of the channel, as well as close partnerships relationships
Name: Dean Jordan
Job Title: President at Moruga IT Solutions
Tenure in Role: 9 years
Responsibilities: Oversees efforts in sales, marketing and customer service
Previous Experience: AT&T, WorldCom, XO, Telesphere, Cox, Integra Telecom
Key Accomplishment: Named TSX president
What Makes Him a Leader: Decorated sales experience on the vendor side that has prepared him to be leader at a firm whose business merges the TSD and MSP models.
Name: Patrick Oborn
Job Title: Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Telarus
Tenure in Role: 20 years
Responsibilities: Building tools and programs for Telarus partners
Previous Experience: Cognigen Networks
Key Accomplishment: 2020 Channel Futures Circle of Excellence, Six Consecutive Inc. 5000 Appearances (Telarus)
What Makes Him a Leader: Uses his computer engineering background to build disruptive software for the technology advisory channel and solve problems for partners.
Name: Darryl Oliver
Job Title: Director of Global Portfolio Development at Ingram Micro
Tenure in Role: 12 years
Responsibilities: Leads the Ingram Micro Cloud business unit’s portfolio development team, which identifies new vendors and expands existing partnerships
Previous Experience: Best Buy, SOS Network, Merisel, PC Mall, International Data Supply, Advanced MP Technology
Key Accomplishment: Integrating the Parallels provisioning and billing automation platform and its product offerings into the CloudBlue Platform
What Makes Him a Leader: Praised by partners for loyalty, character and experience in vendor business management
Name: Jeffrey Pearl
Job Title: CEO and Managing Partner at OTG Consulting
Tenure in Role: 6 years
Responsibilities: Leading overall efforts
Previous Experience: WorldCom, Frontier, Qwest, ICG, LineSider, IP5280, MegaPath, BroadSoft
Key Accomplishment: 2011 Best Company to Work For in Colorado and 2010 Inc. 500 (IP5280)
What Makes Him a Leader: Leads and coaches a consortium of agents, tapping into his experience as an accomplished channel sales leader on the vendor side
Name: Mike Pereira
Job Title: Vice President of Sales and Engineering at Bridgepointe Technologies
Tenure in Role: 8 years
Responsibilities: Leads Bridgepointe’s sales engineering team, which engages with partners on deals
Previous Experience: Concentric, XO Communications
Key Accomplishment: Directed a team of West/Pacific-based sales engineering managers and sales engineers at XO
What Makes Him a Leader: Leverages deep, hands-on technical knowledge to help partners compete against massive consulting firms
Name: Jeffery Ponts
Job Title: Co-founder, COO and Executive Vice President at Datatel Solutions
Tenure in Role: 20 years
Responsibilities: Oversees operations
Previous Experience: TelePacific Communications
Key Accomplishment: Named Co-chair of CompTIA Telecom Advisory Council
What Makes Him a Leader: An outspoken voice in the channel, having served as president of the Technology Channel Association
Name: Andrew Pryfogle
Job Title: Founder and CEO at CX Effect
Tenure in Role: 2 years and 3 months
Responsibilities: Leading the company
Previous Experience: New Edge Networks, GoBeam, Covad Communications, PanTerra Networks, U4EA Technologies, Intelisys, Pax8
Key Accomplishment: 2016 Channel Futures Circle of Excellence, founder of Cloud Services University and Super9, the channel’s leading source for cloud sales education with over 5,000 registrants.
What Makes Him a Leader: Boasts a resume of disruption, having helped propel Intelisys into advanced cloud services, preaching agent-MSP convergence at Pax8 and specializing in customer experience solutions at CX Effect
Name: Geoff Shepstone
Job Title: Founder and President at TBI
Tenure in Role: 31 years
Responsibilities: Providing vision and leadership for the entire company
Previous Experience: MCI, LCI, Qwest
Key Accomplishment: Named one of the Best Workplaces in Chicago.
What Makes Him a Leader: Built one of the largest independently owned TSDs, developing strong relationships with the channel’s largest carriers and close relationships with agents.
Name: Christopher Shubert
Job Title: Vice President of Advisor Sales at AppSmart
Tenure in Role: 3½ years
Responsibilities: Leads all U.S. channel sales teams
Previous Experience: AT&T, NuVox, Telnes, Mpower, PSINet, Windstream, Nitel, Microcorp
Key Accomplishment: 2016 Microcorp Channel Manager of the Year, 2012 and 2014 Top Telarus National Channel Manager
What Makes Him a Leader: Serves as the face of AppDirect and AppSmart’s TSD efforts, tapping into deep relationships in the channel and his high-touch social media presence
Name: Marcie Stout
Job Title: Senior Director of UCC at TD Synnex
Tenure in Role: 9 years
Responsibilities: Oversees efforts with UCC suppliers and sellers
Previous Experience: Avaya
Key Accomplishment: Driving significant growth in TD Synnex’ UCC portfolio
What Makes Her a Leader: Has driven strong relationships in the vendor community, especially with contact center provider Five9
Name: Dave Wallace
Job Title: Co-founder and President at NXTSYS
Tenure in Role: 14 years
Responsibilities: Oversees all aspects of the company
Previous Experience: Verio, Nobel Networking, Cbeyond
Key Accomplishment: Three-time TPx Communications Presidents Club (NXTSYS)
What Makes Him a Leader: Built a unique and flexible opportunity for MSPs and other partners less acquainted with telecom to offer carrier services
Name: Ryan Yakos
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Central Region at Sandler Partners
Tenure in Role: 5 years
Responsibilities: Oversees support and enablement for Midwestern channel partners
Previous Experience: Davnet, First Communications, Access One
Key Accomplishment: Multiple Consecutive Inc. 5000 appearances (Sandler)
What Makes Him a Leader: Used his sales leadership to grow Sandler’s Midwest presence and cement the distributor as a national player
Name: Ryan Yakos
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Central Region at Sandler Partners
Tenure in Role: 5 years
Responsibilities: Oversees support and enablement for Midwestern channel partners
Previous Experience: Davnet, First Communications, Access One
Key Accomplishment: Multiple Consecutive Inc. 5000 appearances (Sandler)
What Makes Him a Leader: Used his sales leadership to grow Sandler’s Midwest presence and cement the distributor as a national player
The importance of the relationship between technology advisors (agents) and technology services distributors (TSDs) cannot be overemphasized. Cooperation and agility are essential to keeping pace with evolving technology and changing client needs. These leaders from TSDs are stepping up to move the channel forward.
This is the seventh and final installment in a series of Channel Futures Channel Leaders of the Year lists. We unveiled them one-by-one as the year drew to a close. We recognized senior partner executives in security, networking and connectivity, EMEA, communications and collaboration and managed services suppliers.
These leaders have earned a reputation as partner-friendly, customer-focused and future-minded. Some of them have been putting their mark on the industry for decades; others are rising stars. These leaders will determine the future of the channel as they redefine the partner-supplier relationship.
We’ve chosen these leaders based on their company’s market share, growth potential, strength of partner network, scope of partner program and the individual’s impact on the partner ecosystem. Partner feedback played a key role, with special attention on how these individuals supported and advocated for their agent, VAR and MSP partners.
These leaders will be eligible for our 2023 Channel Futures Influencer of the Year Award, as well as the Channel Futures/Channel Partners Circle of Excellence Award.
See our slideshow above for our list of distribution channel leaders of the year for 2022. They are listed in alphabetical order.
Then, check out our other 2022 Channel Leaders lists:
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