Title: Senior Vice President, PGi Partners
Years in current position: 7
Years with current company: 14
Years in the indirect channel: 7

Main channel goal: “Our goal is and always will be to be the best channel organization in the industry. We think we have accomplished this goal by having the most experienced team in the business, the fairest channel-neutral strategy we know of, the most comprehensive suite of channel-ready products and by always striving to be easy to do business with for our partners.”

Biggest challenge: “Our biggest challenge is always how to put our partners in the best position to win, whether through sales resources, innovative pricing strategies or utilizing new technology. We are also working to continue to find ways to protect margins for our partners in a time of price-compression in our industry.”

What is the importance of the indirect channel to your organization? “As a result of PGi’s continued investment in our channel we have grown to over 10 percent of total global revenue in a relatively short period of time.”

To what extent do you, personally, show leadership within the companies you have worked for, the business community at large, the communications industry and the channel? “Leadership requires a continuous positive attitude. I believe that leadership also requires a commitment to always growing and stretching oneself and one’s teammates. At a minimum, I try to always keep these two things in mind.”

How do you think our country’s economic downturn has affected the telecom industry, the indirect channel and your company’s channel operations? “The downturn definitely had an effect on revenue growth. Our growth slowed in 2009 compared to the three previous years. We continue to show great results and PGi continues to invest.”

Currently reading: “The Book of Basketball,” by Bill Simmons

What others are saying about Ralph:

“Under Ralph Hawkins’ leadership, our relationship with Premiere Global Services has risen to a whole new level. His leadership and direction allows his team to perform at the highest level in the industry. But more importantly, whenever we are working with Ralph, and his team, we feel that we are working with a true partner, with the highest degree of integrity. His creativity and willingness to look at new ideas and new ways of doing things is welcomed by ARG. Ralph Hawkins is the epitome of what every agent should desire in a channel executive.”
— Steve Praske, President, ARG, master agent/broker