FusionStorm
“John Varel is a tremendous CEO,” said Dan Serpico, FusionStorm’s CFO. “He is visionary and hard working and as such inspires me to work hard and creatively. He also allows for a great deal of employee contribution into the decision-making process.”
FusionStorm Chairman and CEO John Varel bet on a long shot that paid off big in 2004.
FusionStorm was a thriving managed service provider when the dot-com bust disrupted its momentum. “MSPs suddenly became a four-letter word,” he said, and the company nearly threw in the towel.
But Varel stuck to his guns and invested in a network operations center, while continuing to diversify FusionStorm’s managed services.
“We [thought] that sooner or later the world would wake up and see that this is a better deliverable than they could ever do internally,” he said.
His perseverance clearly has paid off. Managed services are, once again, red hot, and FusionStorm is winning the sales to prove it. The company’s revenue grew more than 260 percent between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004. FusionStorm placed No. 3 on CRN’s list of fast-growth solution providers and is one of two companies on the list that specializes exclusively in managed services.
| AD | |
|---|---|
| id | unit-1659132512259 |
| type | Sponsored post |
“One of the attributes that makes the team at FusionStorm so successful … is their willingness to constantly stay on the leading edge of technology, and their thirst to embrace new products and technologies,” said Grant Hunter, vice president of Access Distribution’s Enterprise Solutions Group, Westminster, Colo.
FusionStorm applies the same entrepreneurial spirit to day-to-day management. Varel, who splits his time between a macadamia nut farm in Maui and FusionStorm’s San Francisco headquarters, prefers his employees act autonomously rather than look for guidance from him to drive every part of the business.
“My people are empowered to make their own decisions,” he said. “In turn, they then tell their staff, ‘This is your business. Do you want to make $50,000 a year or $100,000 a year? It’s up to you.’ ”
Varel also strives to create a corporate culture that encourages employees to work hard but not at the expense of their personal and mental well-being.
Indeed, FusionStorm’s success can be directly attributed to Varel’s leadership, willingness to try new things and dedication to his staff, said those who work with him.