Intel's Steve Dallman Is CMP Channel Executive of the Year

Steve Dallman, Intel's senior director of channels, has been named Channel Executive of the Year by CMP's Channel Group, which encompasses both VARBusiness and CRN, plus the XChange conference group and The Institute for Partner Education & Development (IPED).

This is the first year that the CMP Channel Group has pooled its efforts in selecting a single individual to receive the Channel Executive of the Year award, which honors the best in vendor partner program management, planning and execution. Past VARBusiness Channel Executives of the Year have included Allyson Seelinger of Symantec, Kevin Gilroy of Hewlett-Packard (at the time he was honored) and, most recently, Allison Watson of Microsoft, who won in 2004.

Dallman was chosen for his commitment to partners, his tenure with the channel and his success in working with third-party business allies. This year, those allies named Intel the VARBusiness Annual Report Card (ARC) Company of the Year in Client and Server Processors. The annual survey is the single largest partner-satisfaction study of its kind in the industry.

Dallman was selected from a pool of applicants, who were reviewed by a panel of Channel Group executives and editors at VARBusiness and CRN. Among the criteria used to evaluate the candidates for Channel Executive of the Year were partner satisfaction, the strategic importance of the channel to that company, the executive's standing within their organization and the executive's ability to drive change.

Dallman has spent the better part of 20 years working with business partners at Intel, which touches nearly every single piece of the IT value chain.

His accomplishments have been consistent revenue growth and the ability to slice through bureaucratic obstacles for program members to more easily obtain marketing and advertising dollars. To wit, Intel has enjoyed some of its single best quarters through the channel in the past year.

Among other things, he has restructured and launched new Program Membership Benefits, which have provided improved marketing tools, training, and other benefits based on technology and solutions. He has also helped to establish the Digital Home channel focus and marketing efforts in North America for his company.

After winning the award this week at the CMP Channel Group XChange event in Orlando, Dallman talked with VARBusiness about his tenure in the channel.

"It's been an amazing run, and I have been privileged to work with dedicated, talented and committed people," he said. "That, more than anything, has allowed us to accomplish what we have together."