Channel People on the Move: Veeam, Lumen, Palo Alto Networks, Vonage, More
We also feature moves at AppDirect, Avant, DigitalOcean, Nitel, Trustwave, Westcon Comstor and more.
![Nextiva's Olen Scott feature Nextiva's Olen Scott feature](https://eu-images.contentstack.com/v3/assets/blt10e444bce2d36aa8/blt7e5bc0fe49c0220a/65240adaecb8d755d3c407b1/Nextiva-Olen-Scott-feature.jpg?width=700&auto=webp&quality=80&disable=upscale)
Devan Adler is a new senior regional partner manager at contact center software provider NICE CXOne.
The Fusion Connect and CenturyLink alum represents the Southeast region.
We learned late last month that longtime security channel fixture Frank Rauch would be leaving his role as head of worldwide channel sales at Check Point Software Technologies.
He wouldn’t officially comment on the move, but said he would have something to say early this month. A source told Channel Futures that Rauch is headed to a pre-IPO organization that wants to go big in the channel.
Get the full scoop here.
Olen Scott, a fixture in the telecom channel for many years, is the new channel leader at UC and cloud communications company Nextiva.
The 25-year industry vet has had key channel leadership roles at Aryaka, Windstream and many more.
Read about his vision for Nextiva’s channel.
Stephan Tallent, well known for nine years at Fortinet and other stops in the industry, is the new chief revenue officer for High Wire Networks’ Overwatch managed security services division.
Overwatch delivers exclusively through MSPs and MSSPs.
Ruben Arreola is a new channel sales director with Lumen Technologies.
It’s a return to the formerly known as CenturyLink company for Arreola, who spent the last four years in cable at Cox Business.
Security giant Palo Alto Networks promoted channel leader Karl Soderlund (right) to senior VP of North America ecosystems. Our Edward Gately did a Q&A with Soderlund at the company’s Ignite event in Las Vegas last month.
Meantime, Tom Evans (left), VP of worldwide channel strategy, will take Soderlund’s responsibilities on the global channel side.
Don Jones (not pictured) is Palo Alto’s senior VP of global ecosystems, the company’s global channel leader.
Security provider Lacework hired Niels Provos as its new head of security efficacy. He is tasked with helping to scale the company by approaching cloud security with an “engineering mindset.”
Provos most recently was head of security at Stripe. That came after 15 years at Google.
Rob Ashcraft is the new head of security and CISO at MSP Keystone Solutions.
He comes over from Infosystems where he was director of information security.
Security provider Forcepoint hired one new exec and promoted two others to meet the global demand for security access service edge (SASE).
Left to right: Thierry Bedos, promoted to senior VP of EMEA sales; Myles Bray, moving up to chief revenue officer; and James McCarthy, SVP of North America sales. McCarthy is new to Forcepoint after being head of sales for Cyera.
Get to know these three fellas a little better.
You’re looking at Aaqib Gadit, new chief revenue officer at DigitalOcean, the cloud for developers, startups and SMBs.
Gadit was the co-founder and CEO of Cloudways, which DigitalOcean acquired last September.
Axcient, which supplies business availability software to MSPs, appointed Rob Haggerty VP of techinical support. His job is to enable partners to get the greatest possible value from their Axcient solutions.
He has 18 years of experience, most recently holding the same position at Datto.
Distribution channel manager is Andrew Browne’s new role at AvePoint, which migrates, manages and protects Microsoft 365 data.
He joins the company after more than two years at BeeCastle, where he was head of channel and partnerships.
A pair of noteworthy moves at Avant Communications, the tech services distributor, which brought on Samantha Zuniga as VP of supplier engagement.
She crosses town from rival Chicago-based TSD TBI, where she was VP, supplier and partner experience.
On the right, that’s Bryan Stanley, Avant’s new senior channel manager covering north central Florida from Tampa. He comes from Ring, where he spent nearly six years.
Mason Gann started a new position as channel sales manager with AppDirect, the subscriptions commerce solution provider.
Gann spent nearly three years at Hypercore Networks, and then another six months at Nitel after the latter bought the former.
Altaworx, the data, wireless and IoT provider, welcomed 30-year industry vet Phil Perdue as a new indrect channel manager.
Perdue most recently was regional director of channel customer success at Windstream.
Jason Beavers is the new director of national channel programs at cloud communications provider AireSpring.
Beavers’ channel resume includes stops at Masergy, Comcast Business, Verizon, Spectrum, Level 3 and XO Communications.
Tim Conti is director of channel sales at Ntiva, the enterprise IT solution provider.
Ntiva got Conti from Avaya, where held various roles over a nearly three-year span. He’s also an alum of 8×8, CallTower and more.
IGI Cyberlabs, the maker of Nodeware, the vulnerability tool, named Matthew Koenig as VP of channel sales.
He brings experience from Galactic Advisors, ThreatAdvice, Curricula and more. You might know him best from nearly five years at RapidFire Tools before its acquisition by Kaseya.
Nitel, the network-as-a-service provider, made a couple of noteworthy moves.
That’s Robert Gianquinto on the left, the company’s new SVP of supply chain and pricing. He has 25 years of experience at the likes of Lumen, Level 3 and Global Crossing.
On the right you see Mike Frane, chief product officer, who comes over from a long career at Windstream. CPO is a newly created position at Nitel.
Workday, the enterprise cloud applications provider, nabbed well-known channel veteran Carl Eschenbach as its new co-CEO.
Eschenbach, who has been on the Workday board for four years, will serve alongside co-CEO Aneel Bhusri through January 2024. He is then expected to take sole reins as CEO.
Learn more about what led to the decision.
Data and analytics software company Quantexa hired Tina Gravel as VP, head of channel sales. Her job is to define the company’s channel strategy around go-to-market, commercial models, investment and product innovation.
Gravel is an Appgate and Dimension Data alum.
Read more about Gravel’s plans in her new gig.
Dan Redington joins Ribbon Communications, the real-time communications and IP optical networking provider, as executive VP of sales for the Americas.
Redington comes to Ribbon from Juniper Networks and brings 30 years of experience to the role.
It’s a promotion for McKenna Carroll at Sandler Partners, the distributor of connectivity and cloud services.
Now an event marketing manager, it’s a jump up from event marketing specialist. She’s been with the company for nearly three years.
Ashley Lujan joined Sensata Technologies as a channel sales manager.
Lujan brings experience to Sensata, the distributor of sensors and electronic controls, from IntelePeer, Cradlepoint and more.
Christian Alvarez, known for his role as channel leader at Nutanix that he vacated earlier this year, landed this fall at Stratasys, the 3-D printing manufacturer.
Alvarez left Nutanix after about three years at the hyperconverged infrastructure provider.
Learn more about the company he now calls home.
Telesystem, the national managed technology solutions provider, named Henry Cruz (right) as regional channel manager in the Southeast.
He spent his last five years as business development director at Covoda Communications.
The company also promoted Brian Buchman (left) to the role of senior channel sales manager. He has been with Telesystem for more than eight years.
Philip Chandler is the new director, West, for cybersecurity provider ThreatBlockr.
You might know him from any number of channel stops that include Avant, Telarus, Mitel and Talkdesk.
Garrett Gee is now in the cybersecurity channel.
New at Trustwave as the company’s global VP of indirect channels and alliances, you likely know him from his many years at CenturyLink, and before that, Level 3, which CenturyLink (now Lumen) bought.
He told us that he’s evaluating the company’s partner program before deciding what adjustments it might need.
Previously at Gigamon and Kaspersky, Larissa Crandall is the new vice president of global channels and alliances at Veeam, the data protection vendor.
At Gigamon, her most recent … gig … she led the global channel and alliances organization to record growth, the company said. She also developed its partner program and was an integral part of its partner-first strategy.
Learn what else Veeam thinks Crandall will bring to her new role.
Sarah-Jane McGaw is the new ESG lead, EMEA for distribution giant Westcon-Comstor. The company’s environmental, social and governance team has grown from two people to seven this year.
McGaw brings plenty of experience in this area. She comes to Westcon-Comstor from EcoAct, where she was an environmental consultant specializing in climate change.
A trio of personnel moves at Vonage, the UC, cloud and business phone provider.
In the middle, that’s Doug Watts, market director, channel sales, for the Bluegrass region. He previously spent most of his career with Windstream Enterprise.
You’ve also got Matt Beckman (right), senior regional channel manager covering northern California. He has experience from Nextiva, Electric Lightwave and more.
And on the left, that’s Kirk Avaiusini, senior regional channel manager in the Pacific Northwest. He comes to the company from Dialpad, but also has experience at Telarus, Talkdesk and more.
A trio of personnel moves at Vonage, the UC, cloud and business phone provider.
In the middle, that’s Doug Watts, market director, channel sales, for the Bluegrass region. He previously spent most of his career with Windstream Enterprise.
You’ve also got Matt Beckman (right), senior regional channel manager covering northern California. He has experience from Nextiva, Electric Lightwave and more.
And on the left, that’s Kirk Avaiusini, senior regional channel manager in the Pacific Northwest. He comes to the company from Dialpad, but also has experience at Telarus, Talkdesk and more.
Why not ring in the new year the same way we do every year? For that matter, Channel People on the Move is typically our first post of each month on Channel Futures. And while the new hires and promotions were fairly quiet during holiday week, there was no shortage of personnel moves the rest of December at companies such as Lumen, Palo Alto Networks, Veeam, Vonage and many more.
Last month we saw a longtime channel leader take the reins at Nextiva. You probably know him from Windstream or Aryaka. Just a couple of days later, we learned that a pillar in channel security, Frank Rauch, would leave his post at Check Point.
AireSpring hired a Masergy vet to help partners better accommodate the needs of customers. Furthermore, Palo Alto Networks promoted its channel leader and elevated another.
Then there was Veeam, which tapped a Gigamon and Kaspersky alum to lead its partner community.
Of course, those are just a few we highlight in this month’s Channel People on the Move. Also look for new hires and promotions at Nodeware, Stratsys, Forcepoint, Avant Communications and more in the slideshow above.
Don’t forget that all of our Channel People on the Move image galleries for 2022 are in one place! Moreover, you can keep up with personnel moves, almost as they happen, here.
If you missed last month’s edition, it’s here. That one is up for your perusal after you investigate the moves at Palo Alto Networks, Veeam, Lumen, Vonage and more above.
Want to contact the author directly about this story? Have ideas for a follow-up article? Email Craig Galbraith or connect with him on LinkedIn. |
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