Commvault EMEA Chief Demands More Diversity in Channel Organization

Commvault’s new vice president and general manager for EMEA says one of his first acts within the role will be driving greater diversity within the vendor’s channel organization.

Marco Fanizzi says diversity “is critical” for Commvault to reflect its channel partners’ business.

Commvault’s Marco Fanizzi

“We must be representative of the diversity of our channel partners – and the customers those partners serve – within our own teams in order to understand, advise and relate to them in a constructive way,” he told Channel Futures. “A team that is genuinely representative has better alignment and engagement, while also benefitting the wider cultural fabric of Commvault as an organisation and the industry as a whole.”

A more inclusive workforce isn’t the only change being considered at Commvault. The data protection, backup and recovery firm unveiled a new look and strategy back in October at Commvault Go, promising a greater focus on innovation under CEO Sanjay Mirchandani, who replaced 20-year veteran Bob Hammer last year.

Commvault’s big announcement was Metallic, the company’s first SaaS offering. Targeted at firms of 500-2500 employees, it offers customers core, Office 365 and endpoint backup and recovery, and can be purchased on an annual or monthly subscription basis.

The company also highlighted its acquisition of software-defined storage specialist, Hedvig.

While Metallic is still only available in the U.S., Fanizzi said that, “as a priority, we are actively developing our EMEA sales capability for Hedvig, appointing specific teams with expertise and background in technical and solution implementation. These specialists will be working directly with our key partners to increase the level of strategic commercial and technical engagements we can drive together.”

At Commvault Go, incoming channel chief Mercer Rowe also promised more consistency in its channel engagement in response to partner feedback. He said his priority was to introduce “simplicity, predictability and profitability” to the partner program.

Fanizzi confirms this will continue to the case in EMEA.

“My main priority for the channel program in EMEA is ensuring simplicity while making our offerings profitable and beneficial for our partners,” said Fanizzi. “Credibility with our partner ecosystem is based on maintaining and consistently supporting the great existing programs we have in place.”

Prior to joining Commvault, Fanizzi held multiple positions at Dell Technologies, most recently as VP and managing director for Italy.

In a statement, Commvault chief revenue officer Riccardo Di Blasio said he was “confident that Marco’s extensive experience – especially in the financial and enterprise sectors across Europe – will rapidly accelerate the expansion our already growing EMEA business.”

The appointment coincides with the appointment of Callum Eade as vice president of APJ. It also follows a host of additions in recent months, including former EMC executive David Boyle as vice president of sales for the Americas, and Rowe, who joined from VMWare to drive Commvault’s worldwide channel strategy.