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Collectively, they have a voice that resonates throughout the industry. Individually, their roles run the gamut from distribution executives to vendor channel leaders to CEOs of solution provider organizations. Meet the 2008 VARBusiness Most Powerful Women Of The Channel.
On the following pages, you'll find the highlights of what each woman has accomplished over the past year and whom they've chosen as their female role models. This year, there are more than 50 women on our list as a trio of channel directors from VMware chose to share their honor.
The women of years past paved the way for those who came after them. Today's Women Of The Channel will do the same for the generations to come.
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SUE ALEXANDER
Vice President, EMEA Consumer and Channels
McAfee Inc.
Santa Clara, Calif.
Years In Position: 2
Years In Channel: 16
www.mcafee.com
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| Hope To Accomplish: Hope To Accomplish: Alexander hopes this year to enable each Authorized Partner to fully utilize McAfee's own resources--both personnel and through improved systems. Taking advantage of these resources will enable partners to respond more effectively to customer-s needs.
Mentor: Alexander says she's learned a lot from many bosses over the years, both men and women. She also says it's important to be self-motivated and to absorb the best of each corporate culture and not expect any one person to help you on your career path.
Executives You Admire: Diane Green (formerly of VMware) and Meg Whitman (formerly of eBay) |
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CELINE AZIZKHAN
Channel Chief
AT&T Corp.
Philadelphia
Years In Position: 4
Years In Channel: 4
www.att.com
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| Hope To Accomplish: Customers today are more demanding, more knowledgeable and have more choices, Azizkhan says. They do business with those who understand their needs and deliver on their promises. To deliver the service that customers demand, she says, her plan is to continue to take a leadership role in making sure that the full breadth of AT&T's portfolio is positioned with the solution provider and agent base. In addition, AT&T's focus is around solution provider satisfaction, to be easy to do business with and to deliver on overall customer satisfaction, according to Azizkhan. To that end, her goal is to fully support At&T in leading the industry and speeding the convergence of new voice, video and data services.
Mentor: Azizkhan has learned much from so many mentors throughout her 28-year career, adding that she has had the pleasure of working with some of the most influential leaders in the business. She has learned discipline, good salesmanship, strong communications, coaching and the willingness to take on the tough decisions from these mentors, who have enabled her to succeed in each of the changes she has made in her career, Azizkhan notes. She has also learned that enjoying the people you work with makes any job that much more fun and helps her focus on creating a life/career balance.
Executives You Admire: Those Azizkhan admires most are ones who can articulate the strategy and direction to their customers, shareholders and employees and then get out the way to let them deliver on it. |
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WENDY BAHR
Vice President, U.S. and Canada Channels
Cisco Systems Inc.
San Jose, Calif.
Years In Position: 6 months
Years In Channel: 3
www.cisco.com
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| Hope To Accomplish: Bahr this year aims to continue Cisco's success with collaborative Web 2.0 tools and programs that will enable partners to more easily access the support tools and resources available. These tools will accelerate sales cycles and increase profitability, she says.
Mentor: Bahr says she is fortunate to have many mentors during the course of her career, both professionally and personally. She says she relies on a core group of advisers with whom she has built a strong relationship to give her honest feedback and advice.
Executives You Admire: Bahr says she's a big fan of Xerox's Anne Mulcahy, noting that her leadership during a difficult period in the company's history was impressive. |
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JULIE BENNANI
GM, Partner Program, Worldwide Partner Group
Microsoft Corp.
Redmond, Wash.
Years In Position: 1
Years In Channel: 10
www.microsoft.com
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| Hope To Accomplish: Bennani says her goal is to complete the three-year strategy and road map for the partner-led, customer-centric evolution of the Microsoft partner program.
Mentor: For Bennani, her father was her first and one of her best mentors, someone who manages to blend business savvy with relationship building and personal drive--all while not taking work too seriously.
Executives You Admire: Those individuals who think about the 'long haul' vs. the near term and drive alignment and decision making for the best interests of their company as opposed to themselves, Bennani says. Jeffrey Immelt has done a 'fabulous' job taking over for Jack Welch at GE, she says, and the tandem of Anne Mulcahy and Ursula Burns at Xerox is also 'inspiring.' |
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LAURIE BENSON
CEO
Inacom Information Systems.
Madison, Wis.
Years In Position: 24
Years In Channel: 24
www.inacom.com |
| Hope To Accomplish: Benson wants to have a significant impact on workforce development efforts in IT in Wisconsin and nationally. Personally, she says, she wants to learn new skill sets to thrive in a global society.
Mentor: Loren Morenson, Inacom's chairman of the board, and several key board members, customers, employees and friend.
Executives You Admire: Frank Vitagliano of Juniper and Greg Spierkel of Ingram Micro. |
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JOHNNA BOWLEY
Senior Director, Channel and Partner Marketing
Riverbed technology Inc.
San Francisco
Years In Position: 1
Years In Channel: 16
www.riverbed.com
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| Hope To Accomplish: This year Bowley says she aims to further globalize the Riverbed channel evolution initiative, building programs that leverage its VAD community as a key extension of its channel sales strategy, and expand the Riverbed service provider program.
Mentor: One of the most influential was the first boss Bowley had she came into the channel. Bowley began her career in the channel as a marketing manager inside a distributor. This individual 'showed her the ropes' around different vendors' channel programs--lessons she still remembers today in building out channel programs and strategies. He has continued to be a coach and a friend, Bowley says, and keeps her grounded in 'focusing on what matters, rather than what's popular.'
Executives You Admire: Jack Welch because of his 'maniacal focus on quality, process improvement and belief in hiring the right people for the job and then letting them do it. Lee Iacocca: One of Bowley's professors in her MBA program was on Iacocca's leadership staff and she learned about many of his practices. One that resonates was his concept of 'bet your check.' In desperate times he wasn't afraid to take a risk and his leadership team was every bit a part of the decision. The team would discuss different ways of doing things, then decide which option to take, and before making a decision Iacoca would always ask, 'Will you bet your check on it?' Carly Fiorina--she took a stand, made some tough decisions and did something that no one before her had the courage to do: she bought Compaq. You may agree or disagree with her, Bowley says, but she personifies an executive who thinks outside the box. |
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Next: SHARON BRINDLEY
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