Novell Channel Chief Out

Tim Wolfe, president and general manager of Novell Americas, will serve as acting vice president of global channel sales effective immediately, replacing Pat Bernard who was just named to the position last November, the company said early Tuesday.

A company spokeswoman said Bernard left the company "to pursue other interests" but did not have additional information about the circumstances surrounding her departure. The spokeswoman said the company is seeking a replacement for Bernard but did not have information about how quickly that would occur.

Last November Novell's channel executive ranks underwent major changes that included the departures of Steve Erdman, vice president and general manager of channels and alliances, and James Simzer, director of North America partner sales.

Bernard, a former Hyperion Solutions executive, was hired at the time for the new post of vice president of global channel sales.

Novell said last year's changes were designed to help increase sales through the channel and reduce the vendor's sales costs. The changes were engineered by Wolfe, who was named president of Novell Americas in October. Until a replacement for Bernard is named, Wolfe will continue to serve as president and general manager of Novell's U.S., Canada and Latin America operations while overseeing the global channel operations.

In a statement, Wolfe said Novell remains committed to driving channel sales and he emphasized the role Novell's partners play. "The channel is critical to Novell's long-term success, and we will move quickly to fill the global channel position and continue driving our successful channel strategy," he said.