CRN Interview: Christopher Franey, ViewSonic

Under a recent restructuring, ViewSonic named Franey, an 11-year company veteran and channel advocate, to the newly created post of president of the Americas. He formerly was president of ViewSonic Europe. In an interview with Editor/News Steven Burke, Franey said ViewSonic's new corporate structure gives the Walnut, Calif.-based vendor a competitive advantage.

CRN: What does ViewSonic's recent restructuring mean for U.S. solution providers?

FRANEY: I am looking forward to coming back. I am looking forward to being able to leverage some of the things that are happening here in Europe that might have some applicability in terms of the [U.S.] channel. But, really, ViewSonic is a channel-focused company. It has been for a while. My experience early on was in helping build ViewSonic's channel years ago before coming over [to the United States]. I am just looking forward to coming back, expanding our channel portfolio and helping everybody be a little bit more efficient. That is really it. No big changes, other than just more support, more communication and more commitment from the top to the channel.

CRN: What might be applicable in Europe that you could bring to the U.S.?

FRANEY: There are not any huge new things happening. You've got a multitude of countries, and you've got situations where English isn't the common language. You need a channel philosophy and an overall strategy to support your channel partners and help them accomplish their business objectives. The thing that is challenging in Europe is you have to have some flexibility in those programs because, while the channels may look similar in nature, they can operate differently. There is no true pan-European retail or distribution model.

The Tech Datas and Ingram Micros of the world have independent operating companies aligned with the corporate structure. They have the flexibility to execute at the local level. You've got to tailor your channel communications and channel tools differently in Germany than in the Nordic [countries], Russia, Spain, Portugal, France or England. It is having the flexibility to tailor things to certain channel partners. Europe is all about geography and language. If you look at the North American landscape, geography and language don't play into it. But you've got different segments of technology and different core competencies that certain solution providers gravitate toward--networking, security, e-business or whatever. The different market segments that certain solution providers are targeting is analogous to the same kinds of challenges when you are dealing with different cultures and different languages. So a company like ViewSonic has to provide some tools and programs for somebody that is in one space and provide some tools and support for somebody else in another space. It is flexibility, two-way communication and listening to what a solution provider needs in a particular market. Hopefully, I can leverage some of the things that we have done [in Europe] successfully and hopefully gain some traction.

CRN: Will we see a more vertical approach to the ViewSonic channel?

FRANEY: As we've expanded our product offerings, we have [added] desktop displays, rear projection, front projection, LCD TV, wireless monitors, etc. I don't know if 'verticalization' is the right word. The consumer channel and the business channel have their own needs. As you package [products] as part of a solution, you just need the flexibility to help the solution provider communicate what your offering brings to the table in terms of the complete package. That is going to take a little bit of flexibility, more so than just having a plain menu. Some players in the marketplace have the same program for the same player at the same time. Maybe that works. Maybe it doesn't.

CRN: ViewSonic has bolstered its resources and commitment to the channel. Are there any changes you're looking to make right away?

FRANEY: The biggest immediate change is we are going to take our channel chief Jeff Volpe and move him over to the marketing space. Obviously, we are aggressively conducting our search for our new VP of sales. That is an internal and external search. And what I am looking for obviously, with my background, is somebody who has a very intimate knowledge of the channel. You need somebody in marketing who has direct relationships with a lot of our channel partners. So you are going to have a synergy between the head of the business, marketing and sales. I think that is going to be a powerful message for our [channel] account partners.

CRN: What is that triangulation going to allow in terms of strategy?

FRANEY: One thing it will do immediately is provide some synergy and linkage. Traditionally, one of the challenges that exist in companies trying to embrace the channel and be more successful there is, how do you execute? At the end of the day, programs are great, but if they are not executed properly, timely, swiftly and crisply, they lose their impact and their effectiveness. So triangulation of sales, marketing and the top of the business is going to give us a competitive advantage going forward. I am excited to be part of that.

CRN: Are there any holes you are trying to plug as you come to the job?

FRANEY: I don't think there are any holes that need to be plugged or fixed. In North America, ViewSonic has done an outstanding job for a long period of time. We just want to build on the momentum that we have established and take it to the next level. It is a journey; it is not a destination. There are plenty of people good at talking the talk, and there is a small minority of folks good at walking the talk. We continually want to be in that minority of folks who deliver what they say they are going to deliver. At the end of the day, I think solution providers want a relationship with their vendor partners and want that relationship to be built on trust, credibility and integrity.

CRN: What is the state of the channel now vs. when you left for Europe?

FRANEY: It was four years ago when I left North America. So there were a lot of things happening back then: The economy took a turn for the worse, the bubble burst with the Internet, and the promise of the Internet in terms of people thinking it was going to replace the channel with the direct model was where everyone was going. When I left four years ago, I think people were looking at the channel and the efficiencies of the channel and some of the costs associated with having a channel model. There were a certain amount of companies [where] the channel was starting to be minimized. And what you found was the global marketplace took a dive. There were some really significant challenges that arose.

When I got over here, the approach at ViewSonic was we are going to try to replicate some of the strategies that were successful in other parts of the world and then go out and embrace channel partners. That is what we did. I am happy to see that the channel is back in favor with the general vendor community. For ViewSonic, the channel has always been an integral part of our success. And as long as I am with ViewSonic, I think it is going to continue to be that way.

In terms of what is different now vs. today is I think there are more-focused solution providers out there. They know what their core competencies are and what they want from vendors. And they also have a really good appreciation of and sophistication about which vendors really are going to support them. Everything is great when business is good and you are making money. But when times are tough and we all have challenges, you know who your friends are and who is going to support you.

CRN: Are there any significant market shifts that ViewSonic is making?

FRANEY: I just think it is an alignment of putting the executive talent in the right place at the right time. It is going to enable ViewSonic to accomplish its objectives. I don't see any huge or major changes in what we are going to do in terms of our channel strategy or market focus. We are just going to continue to expand our channel portfolio where it makes sense with the products we bring to market. Obviously, LCD TVs, plasmas and projectors are no longer just business products. Those are finding their ways into homes. It's a real big opportunity for some traditional IT companies. I think IT companies are starting to provide a real challenge for some of the consumer companies that maybe aren't as channel-focused, entrepreneurial and light-footed.

CRN: What does it feel like to come home?

FRANEY: For me, the whole thing is, to be personal about it, kind of bittersweet. Coming four years ago to [ViewSonic] Europe, I was the only American in the company. The folks embraced what ViewSonic was doing. I got a chance to work side by side with some very talented people, made a lot of friends, and got a different and expanded perspective, which I am always going to treasure. And the company is at a different place. When that last day comes when I have got to close the door, pack up the house and leave, it is going to be a difficult day. At the same time, coming back to my home country, family and friends--and a large part of my old team is still at ViewSonic corporate--is the exciting part.