Curt Allen Leaves Vonage Channel Chief Post After New CEO Appointed

Curt Allen has vacated his role as Vonage channel chief in a move directly tied to the company’s leadership change last summer.

Curt Allen

Allen replaced Mario DeRiggi last July. DeRiggi, who spent two years as Vonage’s channel chief, is now Fusion Connect’s chief revenue officer.

Last June, Vonage appointed Rory Read as its CEO and member of its board of directors. Read previously was with Dell Technologies.

Read replaced Alan Masarek, who was Vonage’s CEO for nearly six years. Masarek joined Vonage as CEO in November 2014 and has since retired.

Mission Pivot

“The near-term mission pivoted when Alan Maserak left and Rory Read came in,” Allen said. “I believe they are on a path to success, but that given the shift I was not the right leader for the channel organization at this time.”

Vonage veteran Jim Regan is now the company’s channel chief. He previously was vice president of channels.

Vonage’s Jim Regan

“Jim is the perfect choice to run the Vonage channel,” Allen said. “His 10 years of experience with the organization dating back to an acquired business, along with his consistent success and deep relationships with partners will help him excel in the new role.”

Regan tells us his new role is a “natural extension of my experience with the company and my work with our channel teams around the world.”

“My years of channel sales experience, both at Vonage and other business cloud communications providers, has given me a tremendous foundation upon which to build on our momentum in the channel by enhancing the partner program and building upon our vast partner network,” he said. “The way we work has fundamentally changed and now, more than ever, businesses rely on cloud communications to seamlessly connect employees, customers and partners across the globe. And Vonage is committed to bringing those solutions to customers in partnership with our trusted partner community.”

Big Plans in 2021

In 2021, Vonage will continue to invest in new initiatives to further enhance its channel model, Regan said. That includes additional support in key markets, new infrastructure to make it even easier for partners to do business with Vonage, and additional selling models and product differentiators.

“We will drive growth within the Vonage partner ecosystem by delivering an exceptional experience for both our partners and their customers,” he said. “I’m fortunate to have an all-star channel team supporting our partners globally – each of whom is dedicated to overdelivering for their partners in market. Our Vonage partners should expect us to continue to build on the foundations of the 2020 program while also expanding into exciting new revenue streams and an expanded product portfolio.”

Now more than ever, partners’ customers rely on Vonage’s products and services to keep their employees connected with each other – and with their own customers – from anywhere, no matter what, Regan said.

“While the challenges in 2020 have lessened, they have changed the way the world works, likely forever,” he said. “We remain dedicated to providing our partners with the tools they need to help their customers stay connected and drive great customer experiences, no matter where or how …

… they choose to connect. With this promise, we are delivering the power and the flexibility for our customers to create new paradigms in their industries, and enabling the type of business continuity, remote work and remote delivery of services that is now essential.”

Winning Big in 2021

Vonage is providing its partners with the program, people and technology stack to win big in 2021, Regan said.

“With the Vonage Communications Platform – our single enterprise cloud communications platform that delivers our wide range of communications services and solutions including APIs, UC and CC applications – we provide the power and flexibility needed to accelerate digital transformation for customers of all sizes,” he said. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to continue working alongside our partners in 2021 and beyond, as we continue to do great things together.”

Allen emerged from retirement to become Windstream’s channel chief more than three years ago. And after Windstream filed chapter 11 bankruptcy, he took on the task of cutting 15% of Windstream’s partners while increasing commissions for the remaining partners selling strategic products. The company also consolidated partners on a single agreement in accordance with the bankruptcy court’s ruling.

Also this month, Vonage appointed Jay Bellissimo as chief operating officer. In this role, he will be responsible for leading sales and operations globally, including Vonage’s go-to-market strategy and execution across its portfolio of API, UC and CC products.

Bellissimo most recently served as general manager of IBM’s U.S. public and federal market. In this role, he was responsible for a multibillion-dollar portfolio spanning three industries. Those include health care and life sciences, government and education, and defense and intelligence.