Amazon Consulting, a channel-focused consulting and services group led by Diane Krakora, has added to its ranks of channel heavyweights Kevin Rhone (pictured), former director of consulting for Everything Channel IPED.

Rhone, who will serve as Amazon’s director of client services, brings to the position a whole lot of channel experience. Before serving at IPED, he was affiliated with The York Group, Workscape, Wildfire Communications, Kronos and Clearpoint Research Group. He also served as president and CEO of SmartTime Software.

Rhone is in good company at Amazon Consulting, which helps companies develop and implement effective partner programs. The folks running Amazon Consulting all have extensive channel experience, from sales and marketing to editorial and program development. Rhone’s experience leading channel programs for various companies, coupled with his tenure at IPED, find him in good stead at Amazon Consulting.

As director of client services, Rhone will be in charge of building client relationships and being a voice of the industry – something he did well during his time at IPED, where he led initiatives with vendors including Cisco, Microsoft and Juniper to develop and refine their channel efforts.

Indeed, a growing number of vendors are turning to consultancies such as Amazon Consulting to build channel programs that speak to a larger audience, thanks in part to maturation of the industry and convergence of technologies. In turn, an increasing number of such firms are cropping up to meet demand, which so far is a good thing. The fact that known names such as Rhone are now joining these consultancies speaks volumes to their credibility.

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