Former CenturyLink, Spearhead Channel Leader Joins Equinix

Lisa Miller, a longtime figure in CenturyLink’s channel program, is taking on a major partner role at Equinix.

Miller has joined the data center and colocation provider as senior vice president of platform alliances. She previously was serving as president and chief operating officer for the IT/telecommunications consultancy Spearhead Advisors.

Miller announced her new job on LinkedIn this week. According to her LinkedIn profile, she takes responsibility for Equinix’s platform alliance strategy. That includes selling to, selling with and selling through different alliance partners.

Equinix’s Lisa Miller

Miller gained a name for herself during her tenure Level 3 Communications, which CenturyLink acquired about five years ago. Her 18-plus-year stint at the company culminated in her position as president of wholesale, indirect and small and medium business. Other jobs included senior vice president of the enterprise sales channel from 2013-2014.

She left CenturyLink in 2020, several months prior to the telco rebranding as Lumen Technologies. She joined Spearhead, a “Lumen-led” partner later that year.

Friends in the Channel

Miller’s announcement drew a chorus of congratulations from across the channel community.

“Congratulations Equinix. You hit the lottery with this hire,” said Craig Patterson, channel chief at Aryaka and a former colleague of Miller’s at CenturyLink. “Lisa Miller sets the bar for excellence.”

Meghan Hambacher Wilkinson, another fellow CenturyLink/Lumen alumna, also praised Miller.

“Congratulations to a rockstar and one of the best humans ever! Equinix is fortunate and grateful to have a true powerhouse leader and influential human joining the team,” Hambacher Wilkinson said.

Equinix’s Tara Risser

Equinix earlier this year promoted Tara Risser to president of the Americas. Risser joined Equinix in 2015 after a 14-year stint at Level 3 Communications/CenturyLink.

“So thrilled to have you join us Lisa! I’ve seen the positive impact you’ve had on customers and teams in the past and I know you’ll do the same here at Equinix. Welcome aboard!” Risser said to Miller on LinkedIn.

In addition, Equinix last year promoted Kevin Thames to vice president of channel for the Americas and Jules Johnston to senior vice president of global channels. Johnston was the first person to occupy such a position at Equinix.

“When I began at Equinix just a few years ago, [the channel] was small, single digits in terms of percentage of our business,” Johnston told Channel Futures’ Edward Gately at the time. “So today we’re delighted that channel partner selling represents over 30% of our new business on a consistent basis for the last several quarters.”

Moreover, Johnston said Equinix is chasing a goal of driving more than half of its business through partners eventually.