Meet Channel Futures' Top 20 Network and Connectivity Channel Leaders for 2022
This is our second Channel Leaders of the Year list highlighting some of the biggest names in the industry.
![Channel Leaders - Networking & Connectivity_Hero image Channel Leaders - Networking & Connectivity_Hero image](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt34c1b2adc5139fae/652411b8649a2686547bd778/Channel-Leaders-Networking-Connectivity_Hero-image.png?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Name: Ross Artale
Job Title: President and Chief Operating Officer at Spectrotel
Tenure in Role/Company: 15 years
Responsibilities: Leads all operations, including for sales, product management, marketing, network operations, engineering and IT.
Previous Experience: InfoHighway Communications, Prism Communications Geotek Communications
Key Accomplishment: 2020 Channel Futures Top Gun 51, 2013 Channel Partners Executive of the Year Finalist, 2021 AT&T Partner Exchange Strategic Growth Award (Spectrotel)
What Makes Him a Leader: Quadrupled revenue during his tenure at Spectrotel. Spoke publicly to educate the channel about POTS replacement deadlines.
Name: Stacy Conrad
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Channel Sales at TPx Communications
Tenure in Role: Four Years
Responsibilities: Manages TPx’s team of channel personnel.
Previous Experience: Fusion Connect, MicroCorp, Intelliverse, Premiere Global Services, Cable & Wireless
Key Accomplishment: Served as president of the Alliance of Channel Women.
What Makes Her a Leader: Built a top producing regional sales at TPx before earning a promotion. Mentored men and women, all across the channel ecosystem.
Name: James Davern
Job Title: Channel Account Manager at Lightpath
Tenure in Role: 18 years
Responsibilities: Helping partners identify and sell to customers.
Previous Experience: Cable & Wireless, CTC Commnications
What Makes Him a Leader: Nominated by agents as a highly responsive problem-solver who puts partners and customers first.
Name: Jim Delis
Job Title: President of Americas at GTT Communications
Tenure in Role: One year
Responsibilities: Oversees all distribution in the Americas, including carrier, enterprise and channel.
Previous Experience: TPx Communications, Time Warner Cable, XO Communications, AT&T
Key Accomplishment: 2020 Channel Futures Top Gun 51
What Makes Him a Leader: Helped align TPx’s channel with its national expansion. Emphasized operational excellence at the start of his GTT tenure.
Name: George Fischer
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Sales at T-Mobile Business Group
Tenure in Role: 10 months
Responsibilities: Leads sales team for the T-Mobile for Business group.
Previous Experience: Verizon, CA Technologies
Key Accomplishment: Multiple wins in the J.D. Power Business Wireline Satisfaction Study SMB and small business categories (Verizon).
What Makes Him a Leader: Track record of supporting internal investments in the channel, including at Verizon.
Name: Diane Frazzetta
Job Title: Vice President Channel and Alliances at Fusion Connect
Tenure in Role: Seven months
Responsibilities: Leads channel program
Previous Experience: LogMeIn (GoTo), Intelisys
Key Accomplishment: Rebuilt Fusion Connect’s eastern region in her previous role.
What Makes Her a Leader: Rose to a top channel executive position after only eight years in the industry, having started as a supplier manager in 2014. Outspoken about providing optimal customer support.
Name: Jim Glackin
Job Title: Executive Vice President of Channel Sales at Nitel
Tenure in Role: Seven months
Responsibilities: Leads all channel sales and support
Previous Experience: Masergy, CenturyLink/Qwest, AT&T
Key Accomplishment: Led a 70% year-over-year increase in channel sales at Masergy. 2021 Channel Partners Circle of Excellence inductee.
What Makes Him a Leader: Engaging a wide range of channel partners with an eye for moving beyond transactional sales and into strategic customer solutions.
Name: Christopher Jones
Job Title: Associate Vice President of Channel Sales, AT&T Alliance Channel and ACC Business at AT&T
Tenure in Role: 15 years
Responsibilities: Oversees AT&T’s efforts with tech service distributor (TSD) partners and their agents.
Previous Experience: Cingular Wireless
Key Accomplishment: 2021 Channel Futures Top Gun 51, 2022 Channel Futures Influencer, named Top Channel Leader by Telarus and Sandler Partners
What Makes Him a Leader: Campaigned inside of and outside of AT&T to recommit the company to the advisory channel, including an exhaustive partner feedback process and key industry hires.
Name: Michelle Kadlacek
Job Title: Vice President of Channel Partner Sales at Spectrum Enterprise
Tenure in Role: 10 years
Responsibilities: Leading Spectrum’s enterprise channel program and recruiting and developing TSD partners.
Previous Experience: Windstream, Deltacom
Key Accomplishment: Top Gun 51 Honoree, Circle of Excellence and Channel Influencer Honoree, 2019 Charlotte’s 50 Most Influential Women
What Makes Her a Leader: Deepened relationships with Spectrum’s agent partners. Supported women’s initiatives within Spectrum and with the Alliance of Channel Women.
Name: Kelly Lowe
Job Title: Director of Partner Sales at BCN Telecom
Tenure in Role: Seven years
Responsibilities: Growing partner relationships in the Southeast market, with responsibility for solution development and partner education.
Previous Experience: Access Point, Wholesale Carrier Services, Windstream, XO Communications
Key Accomplishment: Established and supported key agent relationships in the Southeast for multiple companies.
What Makes Her a Leader: Regarded by peers as a consummate professional with an emphasis on partner and end customer experience.
Name: John Muscarella
Job Title: Vice President of Channel Sales at Cox Business
Tenure in Role: Eight years
Responsibilities: Leads channel partner efforts
Previous Experience: Polycom, Brocade, Sprint
Key Accomplishment: 2019 Channel Futures Top Gun 51 Honoree
What Makes Him a Leader: Praised for his attention to detail, organizational skills and being personable, as well as his reputation for giving sales teams new energy and direction.
Name: Jason Ness
Job Title: CEO at CommandLink
Tenure in Role: Four years
Responsibilities: Founder and chief executive
Previous Experience: Telnes Broadband, GTT Communications
Key Accomplishment: 2021 PlanetOne Provider of the Year (CommandLink)
What Makes Him a Leader: Drove strong channel growth as a channel leader at GTT. Praised for thought leadership in the channel and focus on partner/customer experience.
Name: Craig Patterson
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Global Channels at Aryaka Networks
Tenure in Role: 14 months
Responsibilities: Leading worldwide channel strategy, aligning global partner sales and marketing teams and programs.
Previous Experience: Level 3/CenturyLink/Lumen, ICG, AT&T
Key Accomplishment: 2022 Channel Futures Circle of Excellence
What Makes Them a Leader: Helped evolve Aryaka from a niche private WAN/SD-WAN player to a popular network services play in the channel.
Name: Charlie Pagliazzo
Job Title: Vice President of Channels at Granite Telecommunications
Tenure in Role: 18 years
Responsibilities: Heads up channel partner sales and support
Previous Experience: Network Plus
Key Accomplishment: 2020 Channel Futures Top Gun 51, 2016 Channel Partners Circle of Excellence
What Makes Him a Leader: Provided key advocacy for indirect sales at Granite. Contributed to Granite’s focus on philanthropic efforts.
Name: Craig Schlagbaum
Job Title: Senior Vice President and Channel Chief at Comcast Business
Tenure in Role: 11 years
Responsibilities: Leads indirect sales efforts
Previous Experience: Level 3, NTT/Verio, Qwest, IBM, Sony Electronics, Intelligent Electronics
Key Accomplishment: 2019 Top Gun 51 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, multiple Channel Futures Circle of Excellence honors
What Makes Him a Leader: Built multiple partner programs for some of the world’s biggest carriers. Led the integration of the Comcast Business and Masergy channel programs, which created one of the largest partner organizations in the telecom agent channel.
Name: Sara Seegers
Job Title: Regional Vice President of Indirect Channel Sales and Opportunity Management at Lumen Technologies
Tenure in Role: 23 years
Responsibilities: Leading a team of field channel and inside sales directors dedicated to the Central enterprise region
Previous Experience: CenturyLink/Level 3/Global Crossing Telecommunications
Key Accomplishment: 2021 Telarus Top Supplier by Volume
What Makes Her a Leader: Raised the profile of the channel within Lumen by building bridges between partners and direct sales teams.
Name: Wendy Taccetta
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Small Business and Channel Chief at Verizon
Tenure in Role: 22 years
Responsibilities: Oversees team of more than 1,400 employees who support small business customers and Verizon partners.
Previous Experience: N/A
Key Accomplishment: 2022 Channel Futures Influencer, 2013 Verizon Credo Award Winner
What Makes Her a Leader: Built up loyal partnerships in the reseller world through co-sale and lead sharing opportunities. Oversaw a historic revamping and consolidation of Verizon’s partner programs.
Name: Lynn Tinney
Job Title: Senior Vice President of Global Partners at Zayo Group
Tenure in Role: 10 months
Responsibilities: Spearheading Zayo’s channel expansion, growing existing partnerships AND identifying new partners.
Previous Experience: Brightcove, Opaq, CA Technologies, Riverbed, Cisco, Samsung, Siemens, Enterasys, TeleKnowledge, Compaq Computers
Key Accomplishment: Board of Directors for Massachusetts Conference for Women
What Makes Her a Leader: Helped bring channel integration partners who were asking for a more partner-friendly approach.
Name: Rob Westervelt
Job Title: Senior Vice President and Head of Channel at Windstream Enterprise
Tenure in Role: 10 months
Responsibilities: Leading the Windstream Enterprise partner program
Previous Experience: GTT, NTT, Broadview, XO
Key Accomplishment: 2021 Platinum Elite Solution Provider (GTT) in the AT&T Partner Exchange Program
What Makes Him a Leader: Brought on to establish Windstream’s reputation in the channel to a provider of advanced, strategic offerings.
Name: Bruce Wirt
Job Title: Chief Revenue Officer at Telesystem
Tenure in Role: Six years
Responsibilities: Overseeing revenue-generating opportunities for Telesystem, including its partner program and elite agent partners.
Previous Experience: NetCarrier, ATX Communications, Lichtman Communications, Cavalier Telephone, Sprint, RCN, Comcast
Key Accomplishment: Sales leadership at NetCarrier coincided with major channel growth. Built a large “coaching tree” of channel executives.
What Makes Him a Leader: Outspoken advocate for DE&I and compensation equality, as well as strategic channel sales.
Name: Bruce Wirt
Job Title: Chief Revenue Officer at Telesystem
Tenure in Role: Six years
Responsibilities: Overseeing revenue-generating opportunities for Telesystem, including its partner program and elite agent partners.
Previous Experience: NetCarrier, ATX Communications, Lichtman Communications, Cavalier Telephone, Sprint, RCN, Comcast
Key Accomplishment: Sales leadership at NetCarrier coincided with major channel growth. Built a large “coaching tree” of channel executives.
What Makes Him a Leader: Outspoken advocate for DE&I and compensation equality, as well as strategic channel sales.
In the changing world of network and telecommunications services, these 20 leaders are stepping up to move the channel forward.
This is the second in a series of Channel Futures Channel Leaders of the Year lists. We are unveiling them one-by-one until the end of the year. They include senior partner executives in cloud, security, communications and collaboration (including UCaaS), managed services, distribution and EMEA. Last month Channel Futures unveiled the cybersecurity-focused list.
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 20 network and connectivity channel leaders of the year for 2022. They are listed in alphabetical order.
Then, check out our other 2022 Channel Leaders lists:
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email James Anderson or connect with him on LinkedIn. |
About the Author(s)
You May Also Like