Telarus, Lenovo Execs to Lead Alliance of Channel Women in 2020

Alliance of Channel Women has named Amy Bailey, Telarus‘ vice president of marketing, as its new president, and Cassie Jeppson, Lenovo‘s director of North America channel programs, as its new vice president.

Bailey has been a member of the ACW board of directors since 2017 and chairs the sponsorship committee. She previously served as co-chair and then chair of the education committee. She succeeds Stacy Conrad, TPx’s director of channel sales for the Southeast, who held the role for the past two years.

Telarus’ Amy Bailey

Bailey also serves on the Channel Partners Business Advisory Board.

Jeppson has served on the ACW board as secretary since the start of 2019 and is a member of the tech committee. She succeeds Rebecca Rosen, Broadvoice’s vice president of marketing, who held the role for the past two years.

Bailey tells Channel Partners becoming president is a great opportunity and “it’s an interesting time to be a woman in technology.”

“I foresee the role taking ACW to a greater level,” she said. “I think we have a really great opportunity to encourage more women to join, and encourage more women to seek out networking and mentoring, and advocacy opportunities.”

Jeppson tells Channel Partners she brings a “unique” perspective as she’s held positions in both sales operations and now programs in the channel.

Lenovo’s Cassie Jeppson

“I really value innovation and I look forward to growing along with ACW and helping to elevate the organization,” she said. “One of the biggest benefits of being part of the organization is the networking opportunities, and the … support both on a professional and a personal level that you create with these women is just unheard of, it’s amazing.”

ACW has had great momentum in 2019 and “we want to continue that,” Bailey said. Expanding mentorship will be a big goal in 2020, she said.

“I was in charge of sponsorship this year and we brought in over $100,000 in sponsorship dollars to be able to run great programs like the Ace Leadership program and our networking events at both the Channel Partners Conference and Expo and Channel Partners Evolution, and we’ve also supported a number of other events. So it’s just being able to really get out there and be more visible to more women. I think there are a lot of women who could benefit from us who maybe don’t know about us. And I think our key priority will be making sure people know what options are out there for them in terms of women’s networking.”

There are other “really amazing” women’s organizations out there and “we have to look at how we’re differentiating ourselves and what value we’re bringing to our members,” Jeppson said.

“So it’s looking at things like how people engage with us from our web presence and social media, and our different events,” she said. “I think it will be really important for us [to make] sure that we’re staying relevant to our members, especially in our ACW live events. We’ve been introducing different speakers and guests that have been really resonating with our membership, and so continuing on that trajectory, and bringing that value and community that women need in this space.”

Bailey said she will be focused on trying to increase ACW’s membership numbers by …

… 30-40%.

“I’d like to see some big, really valiant efforts to increase our membership,” she said.

ACW has two open board positions with elections starting this month, and “bringing in those new perspectives to the board will really be key to shape what that vision looks like over 2020 and 2021,” Jepsson said.

The biggest issues facing women in tech are equal pay and opportunities for advancement, Bailey said.

“I think we’ve come a long way in those regards and I think we still have work to do, and that’s why our advocacy arm is so important because I think we need to have those continued conversations in the coming years,” she said.

In order to bridge that pay gap and build women in leadership, “it comes to at some point women having the confidence to attempt those roles and ask for more pay,” Jepsson said. ACW’s mentorship program could help “prepare women on that trajectory,” she said.

An untapped area for many of ACW’s members is local chapters, Jepsson said. There are 19 local ACW chapters.

“That’s going to be super important as we grow as an organization,” she said. “We really have an opportunity to reach women who maybe don’t have the benefit of attending an ACW live event, and I think that’s really huge to build the community and really help women all over the country to grow.”