Tech Advisor LAVA Hires Mayka Rosales-Peterson to Lead Marketing

Channel marketing leader Mayka Rosales-Peterson is moving to the partner side of the industry and starting a new gig with technology advisor LAVA Technology Services.

Rosales-Peterson has joined Virginia-based LAVA as vice president of marketing. She will oversee the company's digital and field marketing teams and help build out strategy for the company. That includes customer engagement, lead generation and partner support strategies, according to the company. She joins LAVA at a time when more technology advisors (TAs) are investing in marketing strategies and marketing personnel.

Rosales-Peterson has cut her teeth in the channel working at vendors and TSDs, including Telesystem and most recently Intelisys. Now she moves to a new layer of the market at LAVA.

"LAVA was what I needed next in my career chapter. After working within the channel ecosystem at several TSDs and suppliers, my goal was always to work for a partner that truly understood how to connect with the market and their customers to help solve pain points in innovative ways. LAVA is that partner; they get it. It was actually on my vision board too," Rosales-Peterson told Channel Futures.

Four-year-old LAVA is one of the fastest growing tech advisors in the channel, evidenced by its spot on the latest Inc. 5000 and numerous awards from Avant Communications. It provides technology consulting and sourcing around multiple as-a-service technologies, including colocation, cybersecurity and networking.

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LAVA CEO Jake Jansen created and managed the marketing department, but he said he had "taken it as far as I can." Jansen said the firm originally focused on digital marketing, with events a secondary focus.

"Web, social, deliverables/presentations, etc., were a top priority to start because we are targeting the enterprise and competing against organizations with million-dollar marketing budgets. We have to look the part, and our work product has to go above and beyond our clients' expectations," Jansen told Channel Futures.

The ambitions run deeper, Jansen said.

LAVA's Jake Jansen

 "We are building a brand — something recognizable beyond a logo," he said. "I read somewhere that a good way to think about brand is to close your eyes and imagine a Nike hotel. Now imagine a pair of shoes by Hilton. One of those is easier to imagine than the other. A brand goes beyond a single product line, service or logo. That is how we see the future of LAVA. Now close your eyes and imagine a LAVA hotel or pair of LAVA shoes."

Rosales-Peterson said LAVA's culture drew her to accept the position.

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"Their rapid growth is driven by a team that embodies hard work, grit and forward-thinking approaches that set them apart. I’ve worked with a lot of partners in my career in channel and I’ll tell you this: LAVA is unique in the market," she said. "What really resonated with me is the family-like culture, which aligns perfectly with my personal values. LAVA is well-respected in the channel community, and for good reason: They are amazing people! I’m excited to be part of LAVA’s next chapter. I’m looking forward to an incredible journey and to take it another level."

Tech Advisors and Marketing

Over the last 30 years, the majority of technology advisor organizations have stayed small in terms of headcount, and that especially held true for marketing roles. Many TAs have focused on adding sales roles with an eye on short-term revenue generation. Channel Futures' latest survey of TAs found marketing hires to be the least common moves these types of companies made to enhance their go-to-market. Contributing to this factor was the tendency of many legacy players in the industry to rely on referrals for customer acquisition.

Source: Q2 Channel Futures Market Outlook Survey

However, TAs in recent years have expressed interest in developing bigger marketing engines. Rosales-Peterson in her role a senior manager of partner marketing at Intelisys helped advisors kickstart marketing strategies, including with events. And LAVA is not alone in making a splash marketing hire. Gemspring-backed Amplix earlier this year hired Root23 founder Shawn Cordner as its chief marketing officer, and other large agencies like Bluewave and Upstack employ marketing leaders.

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Jansen said TAs differ in their appetite for marketing investments.

"There are lifestyle companies out there with a couple folks, making good money managing a handful of accounts, and they don't have a burning desire to expand, and that is awesome for them. We are not that kind of company. We have goals and aspirations that far exceed anything we've come close to already and we're investing in our back office, services, sales, and most definitely marketing," he said. "I would encourage any business, whether a TA or a landscaping company, invest in marketing as soon as you have enough breathing room from sales and current revenue to do so. It will help you broaden your reach, appeal to a larger market, and most importantly, help you make money."