Upstack’s Chris Palermo, ‘Superhero’ Among Agents, Battles Back from Stroke

Chris Palermo, a pioneering figure in the technology advisor channel and a leading executive at Upstack, is healing from a stroke he suffered earlier this year.

Palermo on Feb. 22 suffered a stroke that put him on a long road to recovery. As a result, he stepped back from day-to-day operations at Upstack, where he was serving as president. Palermo tells Channel Futures that he is beginning to re-engage more fully with the company.

“In terms of progress, I am spending more time in the day-to-day business of Upstack, participating in more meetings and even beginning to travel again,” Palermo told Channel Futures.

Upstack’s Chris Palermo

Palermo founded Global Communication Networks in 1997 and built one of the more decorated agencies in the channel. He sold his business to Upstack in 2021 and took up the role of president. He has played an important role in validating the company to agent leaders as one of their peers.

At present, he holds the title of partner and strategic advisor at Upstack.

A Shocking Disruption

Palermo went into the hospital on Feb. 22 and stayed for six days. He credited a coworker for recognizing what was going on and calling for medical help.

“It is because of their actions that I received care within the critical four-hour window post-stroke, which improved my prognosis. If help had arrived after four hours, the outcome could have been much worse and the road to recovery much longer,” Palermo said.

Palermo recollects now in hindsight that he had experienced prolonged hand stiffness approximately one month before the stroke. But for Palermo, a fitness aficionado who has competed in Ironman triathlons, the symptoms seemed to mirror those of an injury.

He said if he could have done things differently, he would have visited more than a hand specialist. Checking with a cardiologist, for example, could have helped him spot a warning sign.

Palermo in a message to the channel community encouraged them to stay vigilant. Being in good physical shape doesn’t preclude you from suffering a stroke, he said.

“I always considered myself to be a healthy person since I exercised regularly and watched what I ate — and I still had a stroke. My doctors are still working through what might have caused it, and we may never know for sure. My situation is a reminder to take care of yourself and listen to your body,” he said. “If you see any of the following signs in yourself or someone else, act immediately: facial droop, difficulty talking [and] weakness of arm or leg.”

A Long Road to Recovery for Chris Palermo

Palermo has undergone an often tedious climb back to health, which often involved basic motor functions.

“It is a gradual process. I have had to relearn how to speak (without it, you are nowhere) as well as how to move my entire body (from moving my wrists to walking),” he said. “In many ways, I also needed to relearn how to think. For example, I had to relearn math — from simple equations like two plus two, up to 26,789 plus 45,765 and beyond.”

And in the meantime, Palermo had to accept a change of pace in his job. He would need to focus on his speech and physical therapy, and he said Upstack understood that imperative. Palermo said he told Upstack CEO Chris Trapp and got Trapp’s support.

Still, Palermo said he struggled to take that back seat.

“I have always taken great pride in my work. More than a job, it is a passion, which has made stepping back to focus on my recovery challenging to say the least,” he said. “… I am an active, ambitious person, which can make the slow process of speech and physical therapy frustrating. But I am making progress and keep reminding myself to celebrate the daily wins and continue to believe that I will get back to where I was before.”

Amplix chief strategy officer Daniel Passacantilli, an industry peer and a friend, said he and other partners have looked up to Palermo for decades. For them, Palermo’s stroke was a tough pill to swallow.

“It was like seeing your superhero lose to the villain,” Passacantilli said. “But I feel bad for the stroke, because …