For this week’s MSP news roundup, two firms make strategic hires and a promotion impacting channel. Another organization creates a new MSP peer group to stand out from the rest.

Proficio Hires 2 Execs

Two executives have joined the commercial team at Proficio, an MSSP delivering managed detection and response (MDR) services. Jen Ferguson now serves as vice president of marketing and Glenn Williamson takes the helm as vice president of channel sales.

Proficio’s Jen Ferguson

Brad Taylor is CEO at Proficio.

Proficio’s Glenn Williamson

“We are excited to have Jen and Glenn, two esteemed cybersecurity industry veterans, join Proficio at this critical stage in our expansion,” Taylor said. “Each brings a unique set of skills and experiences to the organization, yet both share a deep knowledge of the industry and are perfectly suited to help fast-track our growth, particularly as we see increasing interest in and need for our MDR services around the globe.”

Ferguson most recently was head of global partner programs and partner marketing for BlueVoyant. There, she led the channel and partnership marketing strategies throughout a period of aggressive growth and expansion. She played a critical role in the establishment and success of BlueVoyant’s worldwide channel, the company said.

Williamson joins Proficio with 25 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, where he held leadership roles including chief revenue officer and vice president of sales at 3Data, Perch Security, Fishtech and Rapid7.

Axcient Promotes Tim Sheahen

Axcient’s Tim Sheahen

Axcient, a provider of business availability software for MSPs, promoted Tim Sheahen to senior vice president of global sales. In his new role, Sheahen is responsible for worldwide sales and sales operations, business development strategies and distribution relationships. Sheahen reports to Rod Mathews, CEO at Axcient.

“In 2022, Axcient achieved our strongest growth in over five years, and with Tim’s continued leadership, we expect to accelerate that momentum in 2023,” Mathews said. “Tim is well known by MSPs for building high-performing teams and strong partner relationships.”

Sheahen said he is thrilled to lead Axcient’s global sales organization, delivering even better results for our partners.

“Data loss and downtime can jeopardize a business, and the risk of threats like ransomware is only growing,” he said. “Axcient is solving MSPs’ biggest challenges with faster recovery times, exceptional ease of use and unmatched economics. Over 3,500 MSPs are succeeding with Axcient, and we will continue the momentum in 2023.”

New MSP Peer Group

Accrediting body MSPAlliance unveiled a new “peer group” for MSP executives and entrepreneurs. MSPAlliance Inspire is the product of MSP industry leaders who want more from their peer group experience.

Celia Weaver is co-founder of MSPAlliance.

MSPAlliance’s Celia Weaver

“MSPAlliance Inspire was born from the desire of our MSP Verify members to engage with one another in a deeper and more meaningful way, without the constraints and potential biases of traditional peer groups,” Weaver said. “We set the bar high, and our Inspire members are already reaping the rewards. As far as peer groups go, Inspire is a game-changer.”

Inspire is a networking group that focuses not on sharing financials. Instead, it creates an environment where MSP executives can ask questions and share their concerns. They can also receive help from their peers, MSPAlliance said. Inspire creates an environment where MSPs feel comfortable having discussions they would not otherwise have at conferences, on message boards or on social media.