The VAR Guy's Top 50 Channel Influencers List, 2015: 1-10
Welcome to The VAR Guy's Top 50 Channel Influencers list. Here you'll find honorees 1-10.
April 6, 2015
Name: Sue Barsamian
Title/Company: Senior Vice President and General Manager for Enterprise Group (EG) Worldwide Indirect Sales, Hewlett-Packard
Why She Made the List: Barsamian is tasked with driving increased sales and productivity through resellers, distributors, alliance partners and OEMs. So far, it seems to be working: HP’s enterprise partner business has returned to its status as the growth engine that fuels HP. The new PartnerOne program scores best in class in partner surveys, while HP Unison helping improving ease of doing business for partners and more than 10,000 HP salespeople have been trained on rules of engagement with the channel. What's more, HP’s focus on joint business plans has resulted in greater strategic alignment with partners around the world—the Enterprise Group alone reviews and approves 1,000 plans annually.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @suebarsamian
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/sue-barsamian/0/5a1/61b
Name: Jeff Bawol
Title/Company: President, Avnet Technology Solutions
Why He Made the List: Over the last year, Bawol developed vision and strategy, as well as provided resources, to help partners capitalize on new growth opportunities. He was instrumental in the launch of Avnet Government Solutions (AGS), which addresses the IT needs of the public sector markets and supports partners in the federal, state and local government space. Bawol also made it easier for partners to sell multi-vendor solutions by bringing together key converged suppliers into one solutions group. As a result, the number of partners selling converged solutions has doubled, and Avnet has seen high-double-digit growth in this business segment.
Social Handles:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbawol
Name: Paul Bay
Title/Company: President, Technology Solutions North America, Ingram Micro
Why He Made the List: Bay has led Ingram Micro to great success with its channel partner customers since his return to the distribution company in 2010. He was the chief architect behind the development of a divisional business unit structure in North America, which has led to greater efficiency and productivity as well as increased revenue growth and profitability for the region. Bay also gave the green light to kick start several initiatives to differentiate Ingram Micro and its channel partners, including Agency Ingram Micro, the Professional Services organization and the Vertical Markets expansion. Plus, he expanded Ingram Micro’s portfolio in North America to touch all aspects of the technology life cycle, from creation (components and configuration) to re-incarnation (recycle and refurbish products). Bay is one of the most “in-demand” distribution execs, often being invited to sit at the table with Tier 1 industry executives to influence the go-to-market conversations.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @IngramMicroInc
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/paul-bay/1/776/539/en
Name: Tiffani Bova
Title/Company: Vice President, Distinguished Analyst, Gartner
Why She Made the List: Bova is the worldwide lead for go-to-market/sales strategies and channel innovation, and is considered one of the preeminent thought leaders in the industry. In 2013 she was honored with Gartner's Thought Leadership award for leading the “Future of IT Sales” special report. She is focused on improving sales methodologies, processes and performance to help her clients grow and increase their competitiveness through sales innovation. She is constantly on the lookout for transformative sales models with the potential for profound impact on the way products and services are brought to market. Keeping her clients competitive is her top priority.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @Tiffani_Bova
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanibova/
Name: Neal Bradbury
Title/Company: Co-Founder and Vice President of Channel Development, Intronis
Why He Made the List: Bradbury co-founded Intronis in 2003. Early on and under his guidance, Intronis changed its DNA to become a channel-exclusive player with a white-label, SaaS-based BDR service offering built specifically for VARs, MSPs and CSPs. Since then, Bradbury has played a pivotal role in the development and success of Intronis’ channel program. Over the last year the volume of storage being managed by Intronis’ channel partners has grown significantly. In 2014, Intronis released a new pricing program that put the margin control back into the hands of its partners, and many have reported becoming more profitable and gaining an additional competitive angle in the marketplace.
Social Handles:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/nealbradbury
Name: Jos Brenkel
Title/Company: Senior Vice President, Printing and Personal Systems (PPS), Hewlett-Packard
Why He Made the List: Brenkel is responsible for defining the PPS operating model, aligning PPS sales and go-to-market efforts, and identifying synergies and efficiencies within PPS to accelerate revenue and margin growth. Recent accomplishments include the redesign of the HP PartnerOne program to make doing business with HP simpler, more profitable and more predictable for partners. He also worked to introduce a more intuitive partner membership structure, identified new specialization categories, streamlined the partner certification process and improved the partner portal experience. Brenkel re-established a dedicated Public Sector team with resources to engage with end-user sales teams and works with partners on opportunities in federal, state and local governments, as well as education.
Social Handles:
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/josbrenkel/en
Name: Peter Busam
Title/Company: Chief Balancer, Equilibrium Consulting
Why He Made the List: Busam started Equilibrium Consulting seven years ago on a $500 gift card with an idea of helping IT owners focus on optimization of their sales, marketing and operations. The company has grown to four full-time employees and is making its mark throughout the entire IT channel ecosystem. The dedication Busam has to his clients is demonstrated by the referral business he’s received from industry peers as they respect his model and service delivery to each individual he coaches. Every Equilibrium client has achieved more than 20 percent growth in its MSP business over two years.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @equilibriumcon
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/petebusam/en
Name: Toni Clayton-Hine
Title/Company: Vice President, Global Marketing & Value Proposition, Channel Partner Operations, Xerox
Why She Made the List: Clayton-Hine understands technology, understands the channel and excites partners to help them align their businesses to service their customers exceptionally. Under her tutelage, Xerox has better defined both its routes to market and its value proposition to its partners, resulting in real growth of Xerox’s channel business. In 2014, the business saw gross profits up 20 percent year over year.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @Toniclaytonhine
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/toniclaytonhine/en
Name: Stuart Crawford
Title/Company: Creative Director and MSP Marketing Coach, Ulistic
Why He Made the List: Take a look at Ulistic’s Facebook page and it’s easy to see why Crawford made the list: It’s chock full of accolades from MSP clients raving about Ulistic’s work in helping them increase their sales and expand their reach. Ulistic is a specialty firm focused on IT marketing and business development, and Crawford offers up his 15-plus years of IT experience to help technology business owners and IT firms understand how to use marketing as a vehicle for success. Crawford is a regular contributor to MSPmentor’s IdeaXchange, and among other accolades has won a number of Microsoft Partner awards for his work in the IT community.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @stuartcrawford
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mspcoach/en
Name: Mike Cullen
Title/Company: Senior Vice President of Sales, N-able by SolarWinds
Why He Made the List: Cullen and his team have contributed greatly to the ongoing year-over-year growth of N-able and its partners, as well as the managed services industry at large. He has grown N-able's business internationally by engaging face-to-face with partners. He personally oversees more than 40 partner roadshows each year, and he has guided N-able’s expanding partner community to serve hundreds of thousands of small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) around the globe. Under his leadership in 2014, N-able saw a record number of MSPs move to its N-central RMM platform.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @NableMSP
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/n-able-technologies
Name: Mike Cullen
Title/Company: Senior Vice President of Sales, N-able by SolarWinds
Why He Made the List: Cullen and his team have contributed greatly to the ongoing year-over-year growth of N-able and its partners, as well as the managed services industry at large. He has grown N-able's business internationally by engaging face-to-face with partners. He personally oversees more than 40 partner roadshows each year, and he has guided N-able’s expanding partner community to serve hundreds of thousands of small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs) around the globe. Under his leadership in 2014, N-able saw a record number of MSPs move to its N-central RMM platform.
Social Handles:
Twitter: @NableMSP
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/n-able-technologies
Welcome to The VAR Guy's Top 50 Channel Influencers list. Here you'll find honorees 1-10.
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