Another CA Channel Exec Departs
Gary Quinn, who only several months ago was reassigned to head the company's worldwide indirect channel business, is leaving after two decades with the company. In July, Quinn had been appointed executive vice president for CA's indirect business operations after the abrupt departure of James Hanley.
Quinn will be replaced on an interim basis by George Kafkarkou, according to a memo to employees announcing the change by CA COO Mike Christenson. Kafkarkou was also recently brought back to run CA's North American channels business earlier this year after serving as senior vice president of SMB and consumer channels.
The memo said Quinn decided to leave the company to spend more time with his family. While such a statement often suggests some other reason for an executive departure, Kafkarkou insisted Thursday that this was something Quinn had wanted to do for some time.
"I know for a fact Gary has always wanted to find the right opportunity to spend time with his family," Kafkarkou said.
Nevertheless, the change will likely come as a shock to partners who saw Quinn as the executive brought back to improve CA's channel program. Indeed, CA ranked dead last in the 2006 VARBusiness Annual Report Card in the security and storage management categories.
Those results, however, undoubtedly came on Hanley's watch. Both Quinn and Kafkarkou addressed partners at the XChange 2006 conference in St. Louis just three weeks ago outlining the company's new channel program.
Quinn's remarks had been critical of the company's recent commitment to partners, a problem he vowed to fix. For his part, Kafkarkou said it will be business as usual for CA's partners and that there will be consistency in its go-to-market strategy.
While Christenson said he is searching for Quinn's successor, Kafkarkou indicated he is the person for the position, noting he has headed numerous CA channel geographies around the world.
"Absolutely," he said, when asked of his interest. That is a decision that Christenson will make, he noted.