Philosophy

Channel Futures: Let’s start with your philosophy on the channel.

VMware’s Tara Fine: I’ve been in the partner world for about 12 years, and I would say it’s evolved over that time. But that being said, I think the core elements haven’t changed and those are trust … and foundational simplification — how do we simplify things for our partners? How do we be an advocate, both internally and externally? And last, but certainly not least, is around humility. … [At Dell], I was asked to lead an organization that was brand-new, working with partners which we had not historically, and it required a lot of humility in order to gain the trust of partners who were, previous to that, competitors. And so this one for me is very near and dear to my heart, and it’s something that I plan on taking forward into this role at VMware as we work through the next couple of years.

CF: Interesting. The idea of humility is not terribly prevalent in our sector, right? So I’m really curious to learn more, and how you intend to apply it at VMware as the Americas channel chief.

TF: It’s a great question. I think humility first of all starts with listening, like actively listening. While I believe I have a good sense of what the challenges are, it doesn’t mean that I know it all. And so it’s just making sure I stay open and be an active listener to all our different partner types.

The other element to humility for me in this role is around VMware [itself]. It’s a brand, and I think VMware historically has a great reputation in terms of excellence and innovation. But I also think times have changed. Customers and partners have lots of choice [and need] compelling reasons to continue to be a great partner with us.

Those are … the two areas around humility that I’m focused on.