The 50 Most Powerful Women of the Channel
It's no secret that the IT industry has traditionally been dominated by men. Just look at the majority of VARBusiness covers over the years; suits and ties rule. But the channel--and the IT industry at large--is evolving, and women are becoming a force to be reckoned with across the board. While vendors have been quicker to take on women executives, solution providers are following suit (forgive the pun). In fact, more than 25 VARs on this year's VARBusiness 500 are headed by women, and those are the cream of the crop.
As part of our ongoing efforts to serve readers better and celebrate the channel, the editors of VARBusiness have selected 50 women who epitomize success in the IT channel. We honor 25 women from solution providers, 20 from vendors and five from distributors, all of whom have worked their way to the top, have great stories to share about their journeys and offer advice to anyone looking to climb the corporate ladder or strike out on their own.
Lori Cook
Vice President of Worldwide Professional Services, Channels and Alliances, BMC Software, Houston
Years In The Channel: 25
When Lori Cook joined IBM in 1981, she was the only female sales rep in the entire state of Utah. The previous four women IBM hired had quit, but Cook decided to stick it out.
During her 24-year tenure at the PC giant, Cook rapidly rose up through the management ranks. By the time she left in 2005, she was responsible for $3.7 billion in services revenue and had created IBM's emerging-markets services strategy, which is still in effect today. Now as channel chief at BMC, Cook has helped steer the software company to a 180 percent increase in partner revenue from the first quarter of 2005 to the first quarter of 2006.
Cook is vice president of worldwide professional services, channels and alliances at BMC. She mentors four other women for management and executive positions, and has kick-started a women's forum to provide a global support network for women looking to climb the corporate ladder.
Cook attributes her success to good communication skills and a strong support network. "I always tell other women to focus on relationships; women are very good at developing them. They are tremendous communicators," Cook says. "A strong support team is also a key to success for all female executives."
She urges businesses to provide flexible work schedules and job-share opportunities for women while they are raising their kids. "I raised two children while I worked full time," Cook says. "I have the eternal female guilt trip about working full time and traveling as I did, but I'm living proof that your children do turn out just fine while you work. You can balance."
Michelle Clery
President, ProSys Information Systems, Norcross, Ga.
Years In The Channel: 9
Michelle Clery's competitive streak showed up early. The president of ProSys Information Systems (VARBusiness 500 No. 96) was the goalie on her college ice-hockey team and played soccer and lacrosse. She has channeled her determination and drive into building a multimillion-dollar solution provider.
Along the way, she learned some important lessons. Her first career foray was as a financial analyst. After the three companies Clery worked for went bankrupt, she decided it was time to try another career.
That's when she joined the trucking giant Roadway Express and took their management-training program. "It was the greatest thing I ever did," Clery says. "The trucking industry is completely male-dominated, and there were only two female managers out of 70. But I learned all aspects of the industry and how to manage." Clery adds that working 12-hour shifts five days a week toughened her up a bit.
Clery then ventured into the technology arena. After getting turned down for a sales job at Compaq, she was told that a good place to start would be at a reseller. She became an account rep at a company called BusinessLand before moving on to Vanstar and then BellSouth Mobility and Coca Cola. After that, somebody approached her about getting a MicroAge franchise off the ground, and ProSys was born. She says that decision--jumping from the cushy corporate world to the gritty business of starting your own company--was the best one she has ever made.
Starla Cox
Director, Global Channel Marketing, Novell, Raleigh, N.C.
Years In The Channel: 8
Starla Cox landed her first job at Novell by answering an ad in a local newspaper. Back then, she fielded routine telephone inquiries from ISVs. Now, 15 years later, Cox is the director of North American channel and partner marketing at Novell.
What got her where she is today? "Staying power," Cox says, with a laugh. "If you think about the IT industry and its ups and downs, and the ups and downs at Novell, it speaks to my ability to work hard, keep my nose clean and get my job done."
Cox's climb up the corporate ladder wasn't a smooth one; in fact, it was more like a game of Chutes and Ladders, with obstacles at every turn.
"One of my toughest challenges was in the 1996-to-1998 time frame. Novell was struggling and Microsoft was on a rocket-ship ride," Cox says. "It was a challenge to make a difference in the marketplace."
Several years later, Cox faced another daunting task: rebuilding Novell's channel relationships after the company's failed attempt to move to a direct-sales model in the late '90s.
"In the early 2000s, we [invested a lot in] re-engaging the channel," Cox says. "The challenge was changing the DNA within the company and regaining the trust of our business partners."
She credits her mother for her determination. "She's the most tenacious woman I know."
Anna McDermott
President and CEO, Access Distribution, Westminster, Colo.
Years In The Channel: 15
Anna McDermott jokes that while she'd like to say she planned her career carefully and navigated the business waters with a keen focus, she actually ended up in IT and as president and CEO of Access Distribution quite by accident. After three varied careers--managing car-rental agencies, running a day-care center and owning a natural snack-foods business--she stuck her toes in the IT waters, managing service contracts at a large manufacturer of dumb terminals.
In 1991, McDermott joined a "very small distributor" (today it's Access Distribution) as a marketing-support rep and moved up the ranks the old-fashioned way. Over the years, she worked in sales, operations and credit. "Having a lot of different experiences has lent itself well to helping me...provide the leadership necessary in the role that I have now," she says.
While McDermott sees more and more women executives taking on top roles at solution providers and vendors, distribution remains mostly male-dominated. She is, in fact, the only female representative on the Global Technology Distribution Council. "But overall there has been tremendous advancement," McDermott says.
With all of her success, McDermott says her greatest accomplishment was raising her two kids. "One of the things I tell women is that you can have it all. You just can't have it all at the same time," she says.
Laurie Benson
CEO, Inacom Information Systems, Madison, Wis.
Years In The Channel: 22
Laurie Benson's first job was selling cheese--in Wisconsin, of course--at a truck stop.
"My father taught us that, as soon as we were able, we need to get out there and work," she says. Then, in college, Benson majored in nursing before taking to the IT world and eventually becoming CEO of Inacom Information Systems (No. 284).
She helped grow the company into a $70 million solution provider, but she hasn't stopped there. She also helped spearhead "Count Me In," a program aimed at helping woman-owned businesses hit the million-dollar revenue mark and beyond.
Benson says the key to her success has been her willingness to ask questions of those around her. "I established an advisory board at my company when we had only three employees," she says. She also went to her local small-business board and had them review her business plan. "If you ask people, they are more than willing to help you," she says. "Think about what they say; you don't have to do it.
Her advice to women aspiring to leadership? "Leaders don't have to be great unto themselves," Benson says. "They should provide an environment and culture that brings out the greatness of others. Provide the vision and empower everyone to get involved and make a difference."
Nancy Hedrick
President and CEO, Computer Soft ware Innovations (CSI), Easley, S.C.
Years In The Channel: 25
Nancy Hedrick, president and CEO of Computer Software Innovations (No. 477), recently went back to school, but she never stepped foot in a classroom. Hedrick describes the recent adventure of taking her company public as getting a master's degree without any formal schooling.
"The company had changed over the years, but the process of going public was new to me," she says. With the new ticker symbol, Hedrick's role and audience changed as well. "My focus now is on the bigger picture--the investor community and the shareholders--but you still want satisfied customers and a focus on your employees." To get through the process, Hedrick had to surround herself with smart, savvy professionals.
Her current position, as head of a successful public company, is a far cry from where she thought she might go as a college student majoring in zoology. Hedrick also worked in public health care but eventually became interested in computers. That's when she became a programmer.
She went to work at an "early VAR" in 1981 and ended up developing a financial-management system for schools. When the company folded, she negotiated to acquire the software side of the business. She and a partner, Beverly Hawkins, formed what is today CSI. "We had about 15 city and school-district customers, and they all came with us."
Today CSI generates more than $24 million in revenue. Her advice to businesswomen? "Don't be afraid to step up. Go ahead and grab it."
Pamela Blackwell
President and COO, Blackwell Consulting Services, Chicago
Years In The Channel: 12
Pamela Blackwell defies stereotypes: As a young girl, her favorite subject was math, and at a very early age she knew she wanted to work in the IT industry.
Blackwell's early interest in IT was inspired by her father, Robert Blackwell, a 25-year IBM veteran who went on to start Blackwell Consulting Services (No. 308), the Chicago-based IT consulting firm where Pamela is now president and COO. "He was a very influential part of my life. As I was growing up, all I ever heard about was IBM," Blackwell says.
Blackwell, in fact, landed her first job at IBM, where she worked as an intern after graduating early from high school, and later returned after college to work in IBM's human-resources department for several years. In 1994, Blackwell tapped her HR experience to join the recruiting efforts under way at Blackwell, which at the time was only a 2-year-old company with about 30 employees. It has since grown to support a staff of 200, with revenue of $60 million last year.
During her 12 years at the company, Blackwell has worked in nearly every department, including HR, consulting, IT, sales and finance. As an executive, Blackwell drove growth strategies that helped keep the company afloat at a time when many of its competitors were going out of business. Among those were initiatives to reposition sales and consulting pursuits to higher-margin opportunities and an increased focus on commercial business, which led to the specialization of services in financial services, insurance and health care.
"The one piece of advice I would give to anyone is to learn the business of IT, but also to make sure you learn the business of business. The more well-rounded you are, the more successful you will be," Blackwell says.
Just as Blackwell listened to her father's advice, her two daughters are already taking their mother's. "My older daughter already gets it. She doesn't think about where she's going to work, but about what kind of company she's going to run," Blackwell says.
Janet Wood
Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships and Sales Enablement at Business Objects, Vancouver, Canada
Years In The Channel: 5.5
Copiers and typewriters were considered her first "IT" job back in the early 1980s when she worked for Xerox, but Janet Wood, now senior vice president of global partnerships and sales enablement at Business Objects, soon moved onto getting her "MBA at IBM." After 10-plus years at Big Blue, she moved on to the position she has today.
Wood says the key to her success has been focusing on the job she has and not how to get the next one. "I'm by nature a team player and build solid relationships with colleagues," she says.