Former Windstream/PAETEC Manager Lands Channel Chief Gig at Accel Networks

**Editor’s Note: Click here to see which channel people were on the move in November.**

A longtime Windstream channel manager is the new director of channel sales at Accel Networks, a Sierra Wireless company.

As channel chief at Accel, Greg Franzen will craft the company’s channel strategy. He is responsible for bringing new partners on board and working with existing partners, which include agents/master agents, managed service providers, systems integrators, service providers and resellers.

Accel provides primary and backup connectivity services to more than 300 enterprise customers in sectors that include retail, finance, security, energy and hospitality. The company says its managed connectivity service and wireless link optimization help businesses make the transition from copper-based networks to 4G LTE by transforming a cellular link into an enterprise-class last-mile connection that is equal to or exceeds wired broadband.

Accel claims to be the first company in the fixed-cellular industry to offer agents a residual compensation program.  In addition, Accel offers one-on-one product support for a master’s subagent base and ongoing training to keep partners up to speed on the latest wireless network services.

Sierra Wireless announced its acquisition of Accel Networks earlier this year.

Franzen spent nearly nine years at Windstream as a senior agent channel manager; he was a regional sales director at PAETEC before Windstream bought it in 2007.

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