30 Notable IT Executive Moves: October 2026

Acronis, New Relic, Tusker, Coretelligent, NCC Group, Accenture Edge, SoftServe and Definian brought on new CEOs in October.

New CEOs at Acronis, New Relic and Tusker were among the biggest executive moves in the channel in October 2026.

Taking those top jobs, respectively, were Prakash Panjwani, formerly of WatchGuard; Nandini Ramani, formerly of Amazon Web Services; and Matt Gaudio, formerly of Advizex.

[RELATED: 30 Notable IT Executive Moves: September 2026]

Coretelligent, NCC Group, Accenture Edge, SoftServe and Definian were among the solution providers to change CEOs during the month as companies invested in talent for overseeing sales, technology and partners.

Their new CEOs, respectively, are:

Read on for more of the 30 notable IT executive moves in October 2026.

Prakash Panjwani

In October, Acronis brought on Panjwani as its new CEO, succeeding JJ Jager.

The Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based MSP cyber protection, management and automation platform provider hired Panjwani after he served as WatchGuard CEO for about 10 years, according to his LinkedIn account.

He also previously led SafeNet as president and CEO through its acquisition in 2015 by Gemalto.

Nandini Ramani

Ramani became CEO of New Relic in October, succeeding Ashan Willy.

Ramani took the top spot at the San Francisco-based observability vendor after about six years with Amazon Web Services, according to her LinkedIn account. She left AWS with the title of vice president. As a vice president, she drove “innovation for AWS in the AIOps, including CloudOps, analytics, search, and observability space” and led “flagship products such as Amazon CloudWatch, Amazon Managed Service for Prometheus, Amazon Managed Grafana, Amazon OpenSearch and Amazon.”

Her resume includes about four years with Outcome Health, leaving as COO. At Outcome, she “led the revenue, product, and operations functions to ensure the most rigorous health information platform which includes more than 152,000 digital devices in over 40,000 physician offices and health systems across the country,” according to her LinkedIn account.

Over the past year or so, New Relic has “upgraded training, increased tiered incentives, and established dedicated PSMs for business planning and marketplace collaboration” to “enhance partner engagement, align strategic goals, and drive mutual growth, ensuring partners succeed and maximize their potential within the New Relic ecosystem through tailored support and strategic collaboration,” according to CRN’s 2026 Partner Program Guide.

Matt Gaudio

Tusker announced Gaudio as its CEO in October, with Gaudio succeeding Matt Zafirovski.

Gaudio previously served as chief solutions officer of the Buffalo Grove, Ill.-based company—a 2026 CRN MSP 500 honoree. As CSO, Gaudio “oversaw the company’s technology solutions, professional services, managed services and delivery operations” and helped to bring “together the capabilities and operations of Tusker’s acquired companies under a unified organization built for long-term growth,” according to a company statement.

His resume includes more than 11 years with Advizex, leaving the company in 2025 as chief strategy officer, according to his LinkedIn account.

Vincent DeLuca

DeLuca became CEO of Coretelligent in October.

In this role, he “will lead Coretelligent’s next phase of development, with a focus on delivering exceptional client experiences, strengthening operational excellence, and driving sustainable, profitable growth,” according to a company statement. Coretelligent “will continue building on its established managed IT and cybersecurity expertise while advancing capabilities in cloud, automation, and AI to help clients address evolving business and technology challenges.”

DeLuca joined the Needham, Mass.-based company—a 2026 CRN MSP 500 honoree—after serving as CEO of Six Degrees for about two years, according to his LinkedIn account. He led Six Degrees through its sale to Claranet in June.

His resume includes about three years with Sapphire Systems, leaving the company as CEO. He led Sapphire through its 2023 sale to NTT Data Business Solutions. He achieved “a 5.0x multiple on invested capital (MOIC) and 50% internal rate of return (IRR),” according to his LinkedIn account.

Guy Ellis

NCC Group made Ellis its CEO in October, succeeding Mike Maddison.

Ellis “will lead the next chapter for NCC Group, building on NCC Group’s strengths and bringing expertise from across the organization together to help clients tackle their most important cyber security challenges,” according to a company statement.

He “brings a unique combination of operational, commercial and financial leadership experience, together with a deep understanding of our clients, people and markets.”

Ellis joined the Manchester, U.K.-based company—No. 107 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—in 2021 and became CFO in 2023, according to his LinkedIn account. As CFO, he helped divest NCC’s Escode business and evolve NCC into a pure-play security business.

As CEO, he is “focused on deepening client relationships, expanding managed services capabilities, scaling our cyber expertise and building a more connected, innovative and client-led business,” according to his LinkedIn account.

He previously worked at Specsavers for about nine years, leaving in 2020 as a general manager. In this role, he “led the Audiology business, operating franchise joint ventures in over 900 locations throughout the UK and ROI,” according to his LinkedIn account.

He worked on “development of the customer proposition and strategy for both NHS commissioned services and private customers, and, engagement and inspiring the joint venture franchise partners” as well as re-launching its “own brand hearing aid range to become the market leader by volume in the UK, and full P&L accountability.”

DK Sinha

Accenture made Sinha CEO of its Edge business unit focused on midmarket clients in October.

In this role, he leads “the company’s strategic vision, growth agenda, and innovation priorities, helping clients accelerate transformation through technology, cloud, and next-generation digital solutions” while focusing “on building a high-performing business that delivers market-leading value, fosters innovation, and creates long-term impact for clients, people, and stakeholders,” according to his LinkedIn account.

Sinha came to the Dublin, Ireland-based company—No. 1 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after about four years with Rackspace Technology. He left Rackspace with the title of president of its public cloud business unit, according to his LinkedIn account.

His resume includes about 24 years with Cognizant. Sinha left the company in 2021 as president of North America, which represented about 75 percent of the company’s overall revenue at the time.

At Cognizant, Sinha “was part of the leadership team that drove the acceleration and realization of market-leading growth to underpin Cognizant’s annual revenue expansion from $25M to $16B, while simultaneously navigating significant business and technology disruptions,” according to Rackspace.

Andriy Stytsyuk

SoftServe promoted Stytsyuk to the CEO position in October, succeeding Harry Propper.

Stytsyuk has been with the Austin, Texas-based company—No. 38 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—for about 16 years. With SoftServe, he “has played a pivotal role in shaping the company's strategy, strengthening its operational foundation, guiding strategic investments and acquisitions, and helping position the organization for long-term growth,” according to a company statement.

He joined SoftServe in 2010 as vice president of finance, rising through the ranks to become CFO in 2014 and then COO and CFO in 2022, according to his LinkedIn account.

Steve Vather

Vather joined Leidos in October, taking on the role of senior vice president of investor relations, succeeding Stuart Davis.

Vather came to the Reston, Va.-based company—No. 47 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after about four years with Leonardo DRS, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Leonardo with the title of senior vice president of corporate development and investor relations.

His resume includes about nine years with ManTech International, leaving the security company in 2022 as vice president of corporate development and IR.

Steve Lyerly

In October, Definian named Lyerly CEO.

The Chicago-based solution provider brought on Lyerly after he worked at Insight and Infocenter for about eight years, according to his LinkedIn account. Insight acquired Infocenter in 2024.

He left Insight with the title of senior vice president of sales. In that role he led sales for Microsoft, Amazon Web Services and ServiceNow cloud services.

Cooper Briscoe

Scale Computing brought on Briscoe as its new CMO in October.

In this role, he will help with “next phase of global expansion, portfolio adoption, and channel momentum for the edge computing and secure network leader,” according to a company statement.

He will also “oversee Scale Computing’s global marketing strategy, drive aggressive market expansion, accelerate adoption across the company’s comprehensive solutions portfolio, and deepen engagement with strategic channel partners worldwide.”

Briscoe joined the Austin, Texas-based vendor after about four years with Brivo and Eagle Eye Networks, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Brivo with the title of vice president of marketing. Brivo and Eagle Eye merged in 2025.

Scale Computing has about 4,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.

Dan Fletcher

Barracuda brought on Fletcher as its new CFO in October.

Fletcher joined the Campbell, Calif.-based cyber resilience platform provider after serving as CFO of Planful on and off for about six years, according to his LinkedIn account.

His resume includes about a year as CFO of MarkLogic, which sold to Vector Capital in 2020 before Progress Software acquired the company in 2023. Vector Capital has owned Planful since 2019.

This year, Barracuda has focused “on accelerating partner growth, deepening engagement, and driving innovation,” which includes working to “recruit high-potential new partners, empower existing partners to expand their Barracuda portfolio, and boost profitability through enhanced enablement and streamlined program experiences,” accordingto CRN’s 2026 Partner Program Guide.

Robert Ruelas

Ruelas became CRO of Ivanti in October.

Ruelas joined the South Jordan, Utah-based endpoint management company after about 15 years with VMware and its spinoff Omnissa, according to his LinkedIn account. VMware spun out its end-user computing (EUC) business as Omnissa in 2024.

Ruelas left Omnissa with the title of senior vice president and CRO. In that role, he “was responsible for worldwide sales, systems engineering, customer success, partners, and professional services teams,” according to his LinkedIn account.

Ivanti has about 2,000 partners worldwide, accordingto CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.

Russ Schafer

Cequence Security brought on Schafer in October as its CMO.

As CMO, he will lead “corporate marketing, product marketing, demand generation, field marketing, analyst relations, and creative services,” according to a Cequence statement.

Schafer joined the Santa Clara, Calif.-based agentic AI protection company after working at Fortinet for about a year, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Fortinet with the title of executive vice president of marketing. In that role, he “managed a team of over 200 professionals and a budget of $350 million driving billions in pipeline and millions in revenue.”

His resume includes about seven years with Check Point Software Technologies. He left Check Point in 2025 with the title of head of product marketing for security platforms.

At the security vendor, he managed “a team responsible for global product marketing for Check Point’s security platforms, services and vertical solutions (eg Telco, Retail, Financial Services)” and drove “outbound marketing strategies to improve awareness, share of voice, sales pipeline and market position,” according to his LinkedIn account.

Cequence’s top channel goals for 2026 include increasing the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel, accordingto CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.

Tarun Chopra

BMC Software brought on Chopra in October as its senior vice president and general manager for Intelligent Z Optimization and Transformation (IZOT), succeeding John McKenny.

In this role, he “will shape BMC’s approach to agentifying the mainframe, leveraging AI across operations, data, security, and application development to deliver new innovations that help customers achieve their business outcomes – while maintaining the reliability and control these systems demand,” according to a company statement.

Chopra came to the Houston-based digital business automation company after about 24 years with IBM, according to his LinkedIn account. He left IBM with the title of vice president and led the end-to-end integration of HashiCorp product, sales, marketing and general and administrative functions into IBM after the 2025 acquisition.

His role before that was as vice president of product data and AI, during which he was “responsible for IBM Data and AI product management including strategy, product roadmap, p&l.”

BMC has about 100 partners in North America, according to CRN’s 2026 Partner Program Guide.

Michael Resha

Vertiv brought on Resha in October as its executive vice president of manufacturing, logistics and operational excellence.

In this role, Resha “leads Vertiv’s global manufacturing, logistics and operational excellence organization, with responsibility for scaling operations, expanding capacity, optimizing capital deployment and advancing the Vertiv Operating System (VOS) in support of the company’s long-term growth strategy,” according to a company statement.

Resha joined the Columbus, Ohio-based data center infrastructure vendor after about 10 years with Stellantis and its predecessor Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). He left Stellantis with the title of senior vice president and head of manufacturing for North America, according to his LinkedIn account.

Vertiv has about 15,000 partners in North America, according to CRN’s 2026 Partner Program Guide.

Chad Gardner

In October, Cato Networks brought on Gardner as its new CRO.

In this role, he “will lead Cato’s global sales organization and execution as enterprises modernize and converge their networking and security infrastructure, while securely adopting AI,” according to a company statement.

The Tel Aviv, Israel-based network and security cloud provider hired Gardner after he worked at Blackfoot Communications for about two years as CRO, according to his LinkedIn account.

His resume includes about a year as vice president of sales for North America at SambaNova Systems.

Cato has about 1,000 partners in North America, accordingto CRN’s 2026 Partner Program Guide.

Nanhi Singh

Singh joined Ping Identity in October, taking on the role of chief customer officer.

She came to the Denver-based identity security vendor after about two years with Trellix as president and CCO, according to her LinkedIn account.

Her resume includes about five years with Thales and Imperva, which Thales acquired in 2023. She left Thales in 2025 with the title of CCO and general manager for application security.

Ping Identity has more than 500 partners worldwide, according to the company.

Sean Croston

Pegasystems brought on Croston in October as its CISO.

As CISO, he “will be responsible for comprehensive information security standards and policies,” according to a company statement. He will also “oversee Pega’s information security strategy and implementation, including risk management programs spanning information security, physical security, business continuity, crisis management, privacy, and compliance.”

Croston joined the Waltham, Mass.-based AI software vendor after about two years as CISO for USAA, according to his LinkedIn account. At USAA, he “remediated all cyber security internal and external related matters” and “repositioned the information security program to be risk based, controls driven and transparent.”

His resume includes about a year as CISO and executive vice president of Truist. At the firm, he led “the Truist Information Security Team protecting customer products and services, teammates and assets” and “designed the cyber security strategy that was Board approved, addressed post-merger operating concerns and upgraded the cloud security, data protection, SOC, IAM/PAM programs to meet internal and external expectations.”

Sarah Russell

In October, Russell joined Salesforce as senior vice president of global growth systems.

Russell came to the San Francisco-based enterprise application vendor after about two years with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, according to her LinkedIn account. She left OpenAI with the title of vice president of integrated marketing and operations.

Her resume includes about a year with Coinbase. She left the financial services company in 2023 with the title of senior director of integrated marketing.

Anthony Aurigemma

Microsoft brought on Aurigemma in October as corporate vice president of enterprise and cross-segment go-to-market.

In this role, he will “be focused on helping shape our global enterprise strategy, strengthening field execution, and bringing our teams and capabilities together to deliver better outcomes for customers,” according to his LinkedIn account.

Aurigemma joined the Redmond, Wash.-based technology giant after about a year with Palo Alto Networks. He left Palo Alto Networks with the title of vice president of global alliances.

His resume includes about two years as CRO with Anomali. He left the security vendor in 2025. While there, he helped grow “total company revenue by >10% at profitable EBITDA, while rebuilding Marketing (acting CMO for first six months), and Channels” and “grew 4 qtr. rolling pipeline by 40%,” according to his LinkedIn account.

He also “closed Anomali’s first full-scope SIEM & IT Ops replacements (Splunk) at F100 Financial Services and Top 5 US State,” which was the “largest transaction in Anomali history ($14.5m TCV).”

Microsoft has about 500,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.

Austin McChord

In October, McChord became interim CEO of Slide, succeeding fellow co-founder Michael Fass.

They co-founded the Westport, Conn.-based MSP business continuity and disaster recovery company in 2025. McChord previously founded Datto in 2007 and grew it into a global company serving MSPs before it was acquired by Kaseya for $6.2 billion in 2022.

McChord founded venture capital firm Outsiders Fund in 2020 and serves as co-managing partner.

Matt Marlier

Kiteworks brought on Marlier as its new head of global channels and alliances in October.

The San Mateo, Calif.-based secure data exchange control plane provider hired Marlier after he worked at Aiven for about three years, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Aiven with the title of key account director for the largest OEM partners in the Americas.

In this role, he was “collaborating with cross-functional teams to enhance service offerings, contributing to Aiven surpassing the $100M ARR milestone in July 2025” and “developing and implementing strategies to drive growth, improve client satisfaction, and improve retention rates,” according to his LinkedIn account.

He previously worked at Software AG for about a year, leaving the enterprise software vendor in 2023 as vice president of alliances and channels for North America partners.

Kiteworks’ top channel goals for 2026 include adding more qualified partners and increasing the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.

Thomas Watson

Cherokee Federal brought on Watson as president in October.

He “will lead Cherokee Federal's portfolio of tribally owned federal contracting companies, which generates more than $1 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 5,000 people supporting government missions around the world,” according to a company statement.

Watson joined the Tulsa, Okla.-based company—No. 46 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after a period of about eight years with Servo, most recently as CEO of its $2 billion North American business. He oversaw more than 10,000 employees who supported defense and federal civilian customers.

He also served six years on active duty in the U.S. Navy as an electronics technician, according to his LinkedIn account.

Matt Zafirovski

Zafirovski joined Connection in October as COO and took over the president role from Timothy McGrath, who continues to serve as CEO.

Zafirovski came to the Merrimack, N.H.-based company—a 2026 CRN MSP 500 honoree—after more than five years with Tusker and its predecessor ACP CreativIT, according to his LinkedIn account. He served as CEO of Tusker the last four years.

His resume includes about four years on and off with McKinsey & Co., leaving the firm in 2016 as a consultant.

Mark Thornberry

GuidePoint Security promoted Thornberry to the role of chief business officer in October.

Thornberry previously served as senior vice president of partnerships for the Reston, Va.-based company—a 2026 CRN MSP 500 honoree. He also held roles as director of strategic alliances and vice president of the vendor relations organization in about seven years with GuidePoint.

His resume includes about a year with Lacework, leaving the company in 2020 with the title of director of worldwide channel sales and alliances, according to his LinkedIn account.

Jennifer Swanson

Peraton hired Swanson as a vice president and CTO for its Defense team.

In this role, Swanson “will help shape technology strategy and accelerate the adoption of innovative digital capabilities,” according to a Peraton statement.

Swanson came to the Reston, Va.-based company—No. 22 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after about a year with Cypress International, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Cypress with the title of vice president of digital and next-generation solutions.

She spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Army, leaving in 2025 as deputy assistant secretary for data, engineering and software. In that role, she was a “senior Executive Service leader driving digital transformation across Army modernization Programs of Record” and would “partner with Program Managers, the Army's Digital Capabilities Contracting Center of Excellence, and industry partners to orchestrate and implement enterprise-wide transformation initiatives that deliver measurable results,” according to her LinkedIn account.

Mike Enos

In October, ECS brought on Enos as a vice president.

Enos came to the Fairfax, Va.-based company—No. 47 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after about five years with Peraton and about three years with Perspecta, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Peraton as a vice president. Peraton acquired Perspecta in 2021.

His time with Peraton included serving as senior director and program manager for the Defense Health Agency Enterprise IT Services Integrator program, according to his LinkedIn. That contract was meant “to reduce variation in the delivery of IT services through standardized, enterprise-wide processes and procedures.”

He also served as an aviation officer in the U.S. Army, leaving the army in 2005.

Kim Huerta

General Dynamics IT brought on Huerta in October, tasking her with the role of vice president of total rewards.

The Falls Church, Va.-based company—No. 23 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—hired Huerta after she worked at Mitre for about a year, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Mitre with the title of total rewards director.

Her resume includes about five years with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, leaving PNNL in 2025 as total rewards head.

In that role, she “implemented a new base pay system, job architecture, and robust market pricing process to simplify and enable more transparent conversations about pay and pay equity” and developed a “data structure to support a new ERP implementation ensuring ability to fully utilize capabilities,” among other accomplishments, according to her LinkedIn account.

Billie Major

Capgemini made Major head of group delivery and quality and a member of the group executive committee in October.

She will be “responsible for strengthening delivery excellence and quality across the Group, helping ensure consistent, high-quality outcomes for clients while supporting Capgemini’s continued growth and transformation,” according to the solution provider.

Major has been with the Paris-based company—No. 4 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—for about 30 years, according to a Capgemini statement.

She most recently served as COO of Capgemini’s U.K. business, helping to “drive operational performance, business transformation and growth.” She has also held leadership roles across major client accounts in the public sector, automotive, retail, life sciences and financial services industries.

Michael Bruff

Bruff became CFO of Presidio in October, succeeding Manny Korakis.

Bruff joined the New York-based company—a 2026 CRN MSP 500 honoree—after about two years as CFO of Envision Healthcare, according to his LinkedIn account. His resume includes about a year as CFO of ChenMed and about two years as CFO with LifeStance Health, where he helped to grow the company more than threefold in two years.

In those CFO roles, he “led core finance, accounting, tax and treasury functions, as well as investor relations, procurement and internal audit,” according to a Presidio statement.

He also spent about 20 years with Dell Technologies, leaving in 2017 as senior vice president of strategy, planning and sales operations, serving as North America COO, and leading the commercial integration of Dell and EMC in North America, according to his LinkedIn account.