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Symantec channel partners have taken a wait-and-see attitude toward the company's choice of a direct sales veteran to replace outgoing channel chief Randy Cochran.
Cochran, the face of Symantec's channel sales in the Americas for eight years, resigned Friday to "pursue other opportunities," the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said. He will be replaced with John Eldh, vice president of sales for the company's cloud business unit and a seven-year Symantec veteran. Cochran is scheduled to leave March 31 with Eldh taking over the next day.
"I'd like to thank Randy for his eight years of leadership in Symantec's channel organization and wish him the best in the next phase of his career," Rich Spring, senior vice president of Americas sales, said in a letter to channel partners sent to CRN.
While the company declined further comment, Spring assured partners that the company would continue driving a majority of its business through the channel. "Under John's leadership in FY13, we will put a relentless focus on driving growth in the Americas by leveraging the strength of our partner ecosystem."
One Symantec partner, who did not want to be identified, said it is likely that Cochran is set to take another channel chief job. "My bet is he is taking a channel job at another company," the partner said. "There aren’t too many triggers for an executive at that level to leave a company like Symantec. I didn’t know him well, but Symantec has consistently been a good partner with us."
Other partners had a wait-and-see attitude toward Eldh. "It's too soon to tell, for us," Daniel Duffy, chief executive officer of Fresno, Calif.-based Valley Network Solutions, said.
NEXT: Some Partners Have Concerns
