AT&T Vet to Lead West's Global Partner Program

Meredith Caram, who left AT&T last summer after nearly 14 years with the telecommunications giant, has joined West as its new vice president of global distribution.

In this role, Caram will lead the company’s global channel program and will focus on empowering innovation and driving profitable growth for partners. West provides UCaaS, conferencing and collaboration solutions in the channel.

West’s Meredith Caram

Caram joined AT&T in August 2005 as a regional sales manager and held numerous roles with the telecommunications giant. She most recently was assistant vice president of AT&T Partner Solutions, and then assistant vice president of business channel marketing.

Caram tells Channel Partners that West presented a “new opportunity for me to steer the growth of a successful partner ecosystem.”

“I am driven by an unyielding focus on the customer, and I measure my success based on improved end user experiences, increased efficiency through productivity and successful business outcomes for my customers,” she said. “West is a great fit for me because we offer a complete suite of tech-enabled unified communications and contact center solutions, which is continually expanding and includes market differentiators like our VoiceMaxx cloud calling PSTN-enabled Cisco BroadCloud hosted voice solution, Avoke Analytics customer experience optimization solution, Ambassador relationship marketing platform, GroupCast and SMS Assist notification solutions, as well as E911.”

West is in growth mode, so change has been a “constant for our [partner] program,” Caram said.

“This is a big statement: We are doing everything we can to assist our partners,” she said. “As we look ahead, we are extremely focused on moving forward together with our partners as we execute against our business-unit growth strategy. We want to make sure partners understand how to win with West and to make it easier for them to transact with us.”

Partners are the “scaling engine” for West and Caram said she’s “committed to elevating our channel to provide greater focus and enhanced resources that will empower partners to leverage West’s full suite of solutions while equipping them for success.”

“Many partners know West for UCaaS, but our solutions span CCaaS, digital media services and enterprise safety, and our partner program covers the globe,” she said. “I am dedicated to debunking any misconceptions about what West offers and I am passionate about developing relationships and delivering results to create the most innovative solutions available while driving our partners where we see the greatest opportunities for growth.”

Caram said it’s important to listen to partners, understand what they read, where they go and who they follow.

“I strongly believe that a creative, curious culture is a hard asset, and not one that can be easily replicated,” she said. “The West channel team is encouraged to ask what would it take, not can we do it. Under my leadership, everyone across all levels and functions [is] empowered to speak up, make decisions, push the boundaries and contribute to results. To stay engaged, it’s essential that everyone feels ownership and pride of the shared goal, so not only do I aim to be transparent in my communication, but I also work to foster trust and accountability within the team.”

West has sales and operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America.