Channel People on the Move: Fusion Connect, Intrado, Telesystem

There’s no getting around it — it’s been a long year for most of us. But one constant is our Channel People on the Move feature, which this month includes new hires and promotions at Fusion Connect, Intrado, Telesystem, Viasat and more channel stalwarts.

For instance, Fusion Connect, the cloud solution provider, filled out its senior management team post-bankruptcy emergence. Also of note was a Windstream veteran getting a second promotion in just a few months from RapidScale.

Looking for more? Telecom life cycle management provider Advantix named a Sprint alum as its director of channel. And we at Channel Partners/Channel Futures had to say goodbye to a pair of well-known colleagues; they are off to spread their wings even further in the channel.

But we’ve barely scratched the surface on hiring and promotion announcements from September. We also feature moves at HPE, Tech Data, Insight Enterprises, Intrado, Carousel Industries and more.

When done perusing the gallery below, don’t hesitate to check out our previous edition to see what you might have missed. And don’t forget, you can keep up with all the moves in the channel in near real time! Visit our webpage dedicated to the topic anytime!

Follow executive editor @Craig_Galbraith on Twitter.

Fusion Connect's John Dobbins and Michael Miller

Fusion Connect, the cloud solutions provider, rounded out its senior management team with two key hires.

John Dobbins (left) is the new chief operating officer at Fusion Connect. In this position, he will team with Mario DeRiggi, chief revenue officer and Vonage alum, to redefine product strategy. Dobbins' previous employers include Windstream, EarthLink, XO and Global Crossing.

Next up, Michael Miller, the former EarthLink consultant and NetFortris alum, is the new chief information officer at Fusion Connect. As CIO, Miller's job will be to enhance employee productivity, and protect corporate and consumer assets.

The new hires come just months after Fusion Connect left chapter 11 bankruptcy behind.

Learn more about Dobbins and Miller.

Telesystem's Ken Mercer

Mercer, who the channel knows from 13 years at master agent TBI, is a new channel account executive for Telesystem. The communications and networking services provider says Mercer will draw from his vast experience to develop its agent community in the Midwest.

His most recent gig was director of strategic sales at MetTel.

Mercer, whose experience also includes stints at Sprint and CenturyLink, explains why Telesystem was an attractive landing spot.

Intrado's Shelby Cooper

Shelby Cooper is the new VP of Intrado's enterprise collaboration channel division. It's a promotion for Cooper, who previously was director of wholesale sales and channel operations.

He has been with the company since 2009; before that, he spent four years as a sales manager at Global Crossing.

Insight's Joyce Mullen

It came as a surprise to many when Dell announced the departure of channel chief Joyce Mullen this summer. Well, it didn't take long for a large Dell partner, Insight Enterprises, to snap her up.

Mullen is the new president of North America business at the Fortune 500 company.

"The deciding factors for me in joining Insight were its strong solutions portfolio and its inclusive culture and values orientation,” said Mullen.

Get the full scoop on Mullen's new job.

Viasat's Dyna Meade

Meade joins Viasat, the satellite internet service provider, as regional sales director for the West. She is responsible for building strategic relationships with business partners and enterprise customers.

Previously, Meade held sales and leadership roles at Lumen/CenturyLink, Ciena, Level 3 and AT&T.

RapidScale's Duane Barnes

Duane Barnes has been climbing the ladder at RapidScale in 2020. The Cox-owned company promoted Barnes to general manager and interim vice president. He oversees the cloud service provider's leadership team in his new role.

RapidScale just promoted Barnes to chief operations officer earlier this year. Before that, he was senior vice president of technology.

Learn more about what makes him so upwardly mobile.

Carousel Industries' Steven Demaayer

Steven Demaayer is the first-ever chief services officer at Carousel Industries, the IT consulting, management and integration service provider. He comes to Carousel from Wipro, where he led the technology and communications business for the cloud and infrastructure solutions group.

In his new gig at Carousel, Demaayer will focus on quickly creating "consumable" cloud products and services, particularly in cybersecurity.

Channel Partners/Channel Futures' Kris Blackmon and Kevin Morris

A pair of exceptional members of the Channel Partners/Channel Futures team are off to other positions in the channel.

Kris Blackmon (left), our senior editor and content director for the MSP 501, took a job as chief channel officer with JS Group, the channel consultancy. She has been instrumental in the growth of the 501 list and attracting outstanding speakers to Channel Partners events.

Kevin Morris, business development director, is following his dream to open his own partner shop. The co-host of the popular Coffee with Craig and Kevin podcast has brought in hundreds of new sponsors and exhibitors that interact with partners at our events over the past five years. 

Read more about Blackmon and Morris; then, listen to us fete them on Coffee with Craig and Kevin.

Cisco's Shannon Leininger

Leininger replaces Rola Dagher, who Dell Technologies lured away to be its channel chief, as president of Cisco Canada.

It's a promotion for Leininger, who most recently was area vice president, U.S. Public Sector SLED East. In that job for two-and-a-half years, she focused on state and local governments, and education.

Learn more about Leininger.

Tech Data's Sammy Kinlaw

One of the best-known channel leaders in IT, Sammy Kinlaw has a new gig with a distribution giant.

Tech Data hired Kinlaw to be its new senior vice president of endpoint solutions in the Americas. The channel knows him from 20 years in the business at such companies as Lexmark and Lenovo.

At Tech Data, Kinlaw will lead relationships and strategic operations for the distributor's endpoint solution vendors.

Learn why he is "thrilled" to join the company.

Advantix's Christine Collins

Christine Collins will oversee master agent relationships in her new role for Advantix, the telecom life cycle management provider.

The new director of channel for the Texas-based company, she will work to grow its telecom expense management (TEM), managed mobility and wireless connectivity solutions practice. 

Collins spent the majority of her career – 18 years – at Sprint. Read why she says she wanted to join the Advantix team.

Connected2Fiber's Robert Kenney

Location engagement platform Connected2Fiber hired Robert Kenney as chief revenue officer. With 25 years of executive management experience in tech, he will oversee the company's go-to-market strategy and execution.

Kenney has held similar positions at other early stage, investor-backed technology companies.

HPE's George Hope

George Hope is the new worldwide head of partner sales at HPE, succeeding Paul Hunter, who the company promoted this past summer.

Hope's most recent position at the IT giant was VP, worldwide distribution. He joined HPE when it acquired SimpliVity almost four years ago.

Read why Hope says he is "deeply committed" to HPE's partner community.