An Existing Relationship

For president and CEO Chris Checksfield and the Net7 team, Amplix was very much a known entity.

Amplix CEO Joe Destefano explained in a recent interview with Channel Futures that the three original teams that merged to make Amplix knew each other well. He attributed this to a collaborative New England culture in which agents competed against direct sales and other partners, but not against other agents.

That has been true for Net7 and Checksfield. He said Destefano, formerly CEO of ROI Communications, has mentored him over the years. Checksfield said his team has also enjoyed positive relationships with Blue Front Technology Group and allConnex, the other two agencies that merged with ROI to make Amplix.

Checksfield said Destefano’s mentorship has proven invaluable.

“I was always very surprised and impressed at how forthcoming Joe was with information around best practices, because at a very high level you could look at us as competitors,” Checksfield told Channel Futures. “But really, when I was having these conversations with Joe, it felt like we were part of something bigger. We were part of a family trying to get out there and differentiate ourselves.”