Gary Levy: Semafone Partners Can Differentiate Themselves, Take More Market Share

Semafone partners will play a key role in the company grabbing more market share as security and compliance challenges mount for organizations.

That’s according to Gary Levy, who recently took the role of Semafone’s chief revenue officer of the Americas. He’ll oversee Semafone’s Americas region and revenue-generating operations, including pre-sales, direct sales and channel sales.

Moreover, Levy will focus on growing the organization’s go-to-market capabilities and securing technology alliances to accelerate product development. In addition, he’ll bring Semafone’s portfolio into new and existing global markets.

Semafone provides secure cloud, hybrid and on-premises solutions to contact centers and all businesses accepting payments.

Before Semafone and Oracle, Levy spent nearly 30 years with Avaya. There, he was vice president of Americas channel sales, transforming partnerships and driving sales across five regions.

Most recently, Levy served as Oracle‘s vice president of worldwide enterprise alliances and channels. There, he was responsible for fostering critical relationships, partnerships and alliances to transform the global channel ecosystem.

In June, Semafone secured a majority investment from Livingbridge, a midmarket private equity firm with a global presence. The capital will allow Semafone to continue investing in its solutions portfolio, accelerate go-to-market (GTM) strategy and drive global expansion.

Semafone Partners Central to New Role

In a Q&A with Channel Futures, Levy talks about his plans in his new role.

Channel Futures: Why did you want to take this role with Semafone?

Semafone’s Gary Levy

Gary Levy: Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to deepen my experience in contact center operations, and gain insight into the ins and outs of security and compliance. From this, I understand the direct relationship between security practices and customer experience. Semafone was a natural next step for me. I have seen the company enhance its portfolio over the last few years and experience a strong investment round this summer. This, paired with their visionary roadmap, is something I am excited to be a part of.

CF: Is this role a departure from your history in channel leadership? If so, how?

GL: I don’t view the CRO Americas role as a departure from channel leadership. Rather, it is an extension of the years of experience I’ve held in previous positions. I believe that a successful channel is always tightly aligned with all aspects of the business. My role at Semafone will leverage all routes and strategies to accelerate our GTM efforts, whether through alliances and marketplaces, or via traditional channels.

I look forward to using my channel experience to …