Channel People on the Move in June
They make decisions critical to the futures of their businesses — and of course, their partners.
![People People](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt0a482f7f8b7c9b46/65250def8fd57c14ec69d29a/People-on-the-Move.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Avant named Howard Huerta, a senior executive with a long history in channel sales with the company, as well as XO Communications, CenturyLink and Time Warner Cable, as its first vice president of channel sales enablement.
In this new role, Huerta will bring together the tools, people, intelligence and technology of Avant’s Channel Sales Enablement Program to deliver a “fluid and cohesive experience,” the company said.
See what else Huerta will be up to.
PGi, the collaboration software and services provider, promoted John Stone (pictured) to chief revenue officer. He previously was executive vice president and managing director of PGi International. In his new role, he is responsible for the global sales and field operations organizations, and for the company’s global revenue growth.
Also moving up the chain at PGi are Sean O’Brien, chief strategy officer, and June McCarthy, executive vice president of marketing.
Read more about the PGi team here.
TPx Communications hired Kim Cummings, previously Frontier’s national channel manager and a regional channel manager at Windstream, as its channel manager for the Northwest.
The company said her appointment is the latest in a series of moves to accelerate its channel sales development and expansion nationwide. She will be responsible for recruiting, training and supporting channel partners in the Pacific Northwest.
This is where to read more about Cummings and what's happening at TPx.
Sonya Meline (pictured) transitioned from channel manager to sales and marketing VP at Effortless Office, the cloud and security provider. She initially connected with Las Vegas-based Effortless from her experiences as a client — as an IT director for several midsize health-care companies.
New at Effortless are Joey Jackson, channel manager; James Hawkins, also a channel manager; and Avarra Gordon, who coordinates marketing and supports the sales team.
You can learn more about the Effortless hires and promotions here.
Former CenturyLink channel chief Blake Wetzel (pictured) parted ways with Rackspace, where he held a similar position, after just a year.
Telling us he's "excited about the opportunities in the IT market for channels with continued evolution of business outcomes for enterprises," he wouldn't get specific about his reasons for leaving. Rackspace on June 30 confirmed that Lisa Mclin, a 14-year "Racker," would replace Wetzel as channel chief.
Learn more about Wetzel's future here.
Meantime, Rackspace hired another CenturyLink Alum, David Meredith, as its president of private cloud and managed hosting. His goal will be to grow the business through investments and product strategy.
TierPoint promoted Kenny Ash, who joined the company in 2016 after five years in channel sales management and direct sales with Peak 10, to vice president of channel.
He will work closely with the company’s six channel directors to develop, educate and enable partners, ensuring alignment with the company’s direct sales team and recruiting new partners. He previously was assistant vice president of national channel sales.
There's more to learn about Ash. It's here.
Big Switch Networks, the next-generation data center networking company, appointed Claudio Perugini as its vice president of worldwide channels. He is charged with expanding its global partner program.
Perugini's channel and sales experience in the networking industry spans more than 30 years. Most recently he was executive vice president of worldwide sales at LightCyber, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks in February.
Click here to read our Q&A with Perugini, where he discusses how he plans to expand the company's partner program.
Momentum Telecom hired Sean Cramer, formerly Electric Lightwave’s senior sales director, as its new director of channel sales — West.
In this role, Cramer will continue Momentum’s goal to “provide the industry’s best customer experience,” cultivate partner relationships and oversee a team of channel managers in the western U.S.
Cramer joins Momentum with more than 18 years of experience in telecommunications.
Get to know Cramer more here.
ExtraHop appointed Chris Lehman, formerly FireEye’s vice president of North America sales and channel, as its new senior vice president of worldwide sales.
In his new role, Lehman will drive the company’s global sales and channel strategy, helping ExtraHop continue to expand its footprint in IT operations and networking, as well as break out in the IT security market.
Read what Lehman thinks about his new employer here.
Cloud provider RapidScale promoted Mark Szotkowski to chief strategy officer.
Previously the company's president of sales, Szotkowski now is focused on growing RapidScale’s strategic initiatives impacting all facets of the business. This includes future M&A strategy, as well as business systems automation and efficiencies.
His 22 years of experience in technology includes owning and operating a voice and data consulting company. He also was VP of national accounts at PaeTec.
Find out more about Szotkowski's plans here.
itopia, the workspace-as-a-service provider, named Ted Hulsy its new chief revenue officer. Hulsy oversees pricing, marketing, alliances and channel for itopia, which migrates Windows IT environments to Google Cloud.
Hulsy most recently worked at eFolder as vice president of marketing, serving MSPs, system integrators, VARs and cloud service providers. He also served as SonicWall’s director of channel marketing for six years.
Read more about Hulsy's experience here.
As part of its channel partner sales expansion and intensification strategy in the U.S., Tata Communications appointed Gaurav Anand as VP, channel sales, for the Americas region.
He brings 20 years of executive leadership experience and will focus solely on growing partner sales of global cloud, connectivity, communications, collaboration and security solutions through U.S.-based partners.
Demisto, the security automation provider, hired Bob Kruse as VP of alliances; he's charged with running the company's new Nucleus channel program for MSSPs.
Kruse's previous experience includes stints at Optiv and FireEye.
Click here to read more about how he hopes to tackle the glaring security analyst shortage.
Demisto, the security automation provider, hired Bob Kruse as VP of alliances; he's charged with running the company's new Nucleus channel program for MSSPs.
Kruse's previous experience includes stints at Optiv and FireEye.
Click here to read more about how he hopes to tackle the glaring security analyst shortage.
The heat of summer is on, but for a number of channel veterans, finding a new job proved to be no sweat.
It’s our monthly People on the Move gallery, featuring new hires and promotions in the telecom and IT channels. Here you’ll find pictures and descriptions of channel leaders and executives who will make decisions critical to the futures of their businesses — and of course, their partners.
This edition highlights new channel chiefs and various leaders at Avant, TPx, PGi, TierPoint and more. Click through and you will see people you know.
Missed last month’s “people” gallery? Click here to see who was on the move in May.
Follow executive editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.
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