Datto’s Rob Rae

Rob Rae
Senior Vice President of Business Development
Datto

“A channel leader, in essence, is the identity for an organization. As vendors get larger, as you call the 1-800 number, as executives churn in and out, it’s important to have a consistent face of the organization — that’s been my goal. When people think of Datto, they think of me. If things go bad, they know to call Rob. You have to be willing to answer tough questions for your community and to get yelled at.”

This is the second time Rob Rae has been named a Channel Influencer. Brought on board by Datto in 2013 to forge deeper relationships with its MSP-only sales force, Rae today is instrumental in developing Datto’s go-to-market strategy.

He’s a familiar face at industry events — Datto’s and others’. On the keynote stage, moderating a panel, in a conversation group or one-on-one with a colleague, Rae is engaging and charismatic. He is a master of the art of IT hardware and software sales. And key to that art is the human connection. Rae is known in the channel for leaning in and really listening. He knows sales are more about people than products. There’s a good chance that’s why, even in the midst of a pandemic, Datto’s MSP partner ranks grew to more than 18,200 and the company realized successive quarters of record-setting revenue growth.