ConvergeOne Hires John DeLozier Just Weeks After Sudden Intelisys Departure

After stunning the industry with his sudden decision to step down as president of Intelisys just a few weeks ago, channel leader John DeLozier has emerged in a new role — chief revenue officer of ConvergeOne (C1), the billion-dollar behemoth boasting 10,000 customers and 5,600 technical certifications held by thousands of engineers. 

In a Channel Futures exclusive, ConvergeOne confirmed DeLozier will assume the CRO role immediately, reporting to CEO Jeffrey Russell. Russell is the former president of Accenture Canada and senior managing director who took over as ConvergeOne’s chief executive nine months ago as part of a move by the company’s private-equity backers to transform the company. The company said DeLozier will be responsible for driving and maximizing revenue growth across C1’s portfolio of customer experience, security and networking solutions and leading the C1 sales organization.  

DeLozier has amassed more than 25 years of experience driving channel programs, sales teams and strategic growth strategies at Intelisys, 8×8, CenturyLink, Unify and others, resulting in double-digit, year-over-year growth. His depth of expertise and world-class, go-to-market execution capabilities as well as his experience building high-growth sales teams will bolster C1’s position as an industry leader as it embarks on its next phase of growth, the company said. 

John DeLozier: ‘Relationship Building’ a Talent

“This role is really well suited for me,” DeLozier said. “C1 has gone through lots of acquisitions. If there is any talent that I have, it is all about relationship building and relationships, period — building a team built for business that is motivated and culturally knit together and outperforms everyone else.” 

ConvergeOne’s Jeffrey Russell

“John’s reputation as a highly respected, people-first leader will support C1’s commitment to unlock our customers’ growth by delivering elevated customer and human experiences,” said CEO Russell, in a statement provided to Channel Futures. “We have significant, exciting opportunities in the market, and with J.D. at the helm of our sales team, we are better positioned than ever to scale our products and solutions and deepen our customer relationships with transformative technologies.”

Call it the Sunbelt connection, but in an interesting twist, although C1 is based in Bloomington, Minnesota, Russell lives in Miami and DeLozier is based in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. Their homes are about 30 minutes apart from one another. This will also be an interesting turn for DeLozier, who has been a relentless champion of channel partners in his leadership roles at vendors, tech suppliers and distributors. He will now walk in the very shoes of those he helped guide or provide services and products to throughout the years. 

“It feels like a new pair of high-tech shoes but ones that are comfortable. I have worn them before, but it is just a little different now. It is like coming home for me because this is how I started. I now get to go back to where it all began,’ DeLozier told Channel Futures.

DeLozier succeeds D. Robert Martin, C1’s president of sales, who is retiring after more than 20 years in the technology industry. Prior to spending the past three years at ConvergeOne, he played key sales and channel roles at Red Hat as vice president, North America sales, and Cisco, where he rose to vice president, global channels, VCE. Martin will continue to lead the sales team through the third quarter to ensure a smooth transition, the company said. 

“This is an exciting and important moment to join C1 and lead its sales organization,” DeLozier said in a statement. “I believe in the team and its vision of elevating customer and team experiences while removing boundaries to create deeper and more secure, scalable and human connections. I look forward to working with the sales team and the entire C1 organization and its partners to maximize our potential as a builder of value and enabler of growth for our customers and their customers.”

What is ConvergeOne?

ConvergeOne, also known as C1, boasts a leading position as …

… a converged channel partner providing IT, communications and collaboration solutions. The company partners with Avaya, AWS, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Extreme Networks, Genesys, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks and Zoom. Its majority owner is CVC Capital Partners, the private equity and investment advisory firm with more than nearly $150 billion of assets. Among its holdings are Acronis, Tech Insights, IronSource and Vitech. 

DeLozier will now oversee a sales team which sells cloud, business applications, cybersecurity, enterprise networking, modern workplace and customer experience solutions.  

In an acquisition and expansion spree that started back in January 2006, C1 reshaped itself by expanding into managed services, acquiring specialized partners such as IBM partner S1 IT Solutions and high-end IT consulting and professional services company NorthPark Group, along with launching a fully managed cloud solution and buying a prominent Avaya partner. Eight years ago, it integrated all of its acquired companies into a single organization under the ConvergeOne logo. Its most recent acquisitions came in December 2021 and January 2022, with Prime TSR and Integration Partners, respectively.

In addition to this acquisition and expansionary nature, Converge One was also a publicly traded channel partner organization taken private by CVC Fund VII in 2019 in a deal valued at $1.8 billion. At the time, the company expected to report annual revenue of between $1.55 billion and $1.65 billion. Back then, Avaya and Cisco were the company’s two largest suppliers, but it has since diversified its partner base and industry estimates put the company’s annual revenue closer to $1.7 billion. 

Nitel’s Jim Glackin

“John DeLozier is one of the best in this industry,” Nitel executive vice president of channel sales Jim Glackin, who worked with John DeLozier at CenturyLink, recently told Channel Futures, perhaps presaging his emergence at ConvergeOne. “He’s an inspirational leader, exceptionally skilled at developing talent, and is next level in his understanding of the channel and the dynamics of driving channel business. “When he’s ready, he’ll be back in the game and doing what he does.”

Well, DeLozier is certainly back, and all eyes will be on the latest chapter of his career. 

Many Changes at ScanSource/Intelisys

On Aug. 23, DeLozier and Intelisys vice president of sales Chandler Legarreta announced they would leave the technology services distributor (TSD). DeLozier and Legarreta, both formerly of 8×8, have functioned as the highest-ranking faces associated with the Intelisys business that ScanSource bought in 2016. While many still consider Intelisys the largest TSD and most influential in the channel, several high-profile executives have left in recent months, including vice president of partner experience and marketing Jamaal Savwoir, and its Northwest sales leader, Michael Wolfington. 

At the time, Intelisys’ sales agents (technology advisors) and suppliers registered shock at the news. 

“It’s going to be a rocky ride for the next few months. [DeLozier] brought stability to the organization over the last two years. He is highly respected in the channel community,” Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita told Channel Futures. “There are a lot of concerning changes over the last few months when you add in Mike Wolfington and [Savwoir] leaving.” 

Intelisys has been a standout performer in ScanSource’s quarterly earnings over the last few years. Net sales continue to grow, and vendor billings now stand at nearly $2.5 billion annually. Intelisys recently helped ScanSource’s modern communications and cloud unit maintain positive growth in the midst of a quarter where a ransomware attack dealt a heavy blow to its …

… specialty technology segment and other hardware-based offerings. The TSD continues to score wins with large UCaaS and CCaaS vendors, including RingCentral and Genesys. 

Moreover, ScanSource executives view Intelisys and its agency-based cloud and carrier services portfolio as key to helping their legacy base of point-of-sale, barcode and voice hardware resellers transition to add revenue streams and stay relevant. But since acquiring Intelisys in 2016, ScanSource has seen many of Intelisys’ most familiar faces move on to other opportunities. That includes Rick Dellar, Jay Bradley, Carol Beering and others.

ScanSource-Intelisys Personnel History

The distributor scored a huge win in 2021, when it landed DeLozier as president of Intelisys in 2021. He brought with him years of experience at vendor, partner and distributor companies. He previously had worked as the leader of 8×8’s channel, also bringing a ton of experience from CenturyLink, Unify and Arrow. DeLozier, who also formerly worked at a ScanSource VAR, called the appointment at Intelisys president a “dream job.” ScanSource ultimately named him president of its modern communications and cloud unit, which includes Intelisys. In 2022, ScanSource appointed Legarreta, formerly 8×8’s vice president of enterprise sales, to senior vice president of sales at Intelisys. 

But despite ScanSource’s addition of channel star power, sources close to the matter tell Channel Futures that Intelisys leadership faced a challenge of working within a larger corporate environment — part of that being facing private equity-backed and rapidly investing foes in Telarus and Avant, sources said. 

“It seemed doomed to fail, because you can’t take a racehorse and hook a buggy up to it. You have to let him run,” an Intelisys partner, who asked not to be named, told Channel Futures. 

DeLozier is a well-known face in the channel. Channel Futures named him the 2020 Channel Influencer of the Year. 

JS Group’s Janet Schijns

“It’s not often that we witness the departure of a leader of this magnitude whose impact has resonated for decades across the industry. But as our esteemed channel friend John DeLozier embarks on his next adventure, we must recognize that his talent is not bound by the confines of one firm. In fact, much like a skilled tech architect, he’s merely unplugging from one server to connect to another that offers him greater bandwidth for success,” JS Group CEO Janet Schijns told Channel Futures. He has done this throughout his career climbing the ladder throughout and delivering even more value to the channel from each of his moves. His next venture is not simply an opportunity for the channel but an inevitable triumph waiting in the wings. As such, as a channel we don’t bid him farewell from ScanSource but rather celebrate the upcoming premiere of his next professional masterpiece.” 

James Anderson, senior news editor, Channel Futures, contributed to this article.