Meet IBM's New Channel Chief: Ravi Marwaha

While he was on the ground for just hours before the news was released, it wasn't his first time at Big Blue's New York headquarters.

Marwaha is an IBM veteran, with more than 36 years of service to the company in various capacities, many with direct and indirect contact with the channel. Returning to the United States to run IBM channels is both a personal and professional challenge he says he relishes.

"I'm going to devote my entire time to working on the channel. I will be passionate and enjoy it, and--in the tradition of Donn Atkins--take it to new heights," he said on a conference call with VARBusiness.

Marwaha returns to IBM after a two-year stint with Lenovo, the China PC maker that acquired IBM's PC unit and ThinkPad brand. Most recently, he was Lenovo's president of Asia Pacific and senior vice president of the Lenovo Group, responsible for sales, marketing, operations, service and support for the Far East.

In an interview with VARBusiness, Marwaha expressed deep admiration for the high touch Lenovo has on its 6,000 Chinese and Asian partners (both retail and solution providers). Lenovo, he explained, knows in great detail the business activity--sales, contacts, operations--of all its partners on a daily basis, which gives it tremendous insight into its channel's business challenges and success.

Will Marwaha bring that same philosophy to the IBM channel? Marwaha said his first priority is to continue on the path of success established by Atkins during his two years at the helm of IBM's Global Business Partners.

"We look at the partners as clearly a part of our family, part of our ecosystem," Marwaha said. "Every single thing we do must be good for IBM and good for our partners. If we keep those two things in mind, we never get into a conflict--it becomes a fundamental philosophy."

Prior to joining Lenovo, Marwaha held numerous leadership positions at IBM, including vice president of worldwide sales at IBM's Personal Systems Group and general manager of the Asia-Pacific Personal Computing Division. He was general manager of IBM India and held several Far East sales and marketing positions, including general manager of the Systems Business, director of channels and director of midrange systems marketing. And he's held IBM posts in Australia, Japan, Germany and the United States.

A native of India, Marwaha holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Jabalpur (India). He received further executive and management execution at the University of Virginia and IMD, Lausanne.

While Marwaha's appointment to lead the IBM channel is immediate, Atkins is staying on in an advisory capacity for an unspecified period.

Atkins, who has served IBM for 30 years, retires with an impressive track record for channel success. In the two years at the head of IBM Global Business Partners, Atkins has overseen the growth of IBM's indirect sales and revenue, and spearheaded several initiatives to make it easier for partners to do business with one another and with Big Blue. In August, Atkins was named the Channel Executive of the Year by the CMP Channel Group, which is comprised of VARBusiness, CRN, ChannelWeb, XChange and the Institute for Partner Education and Development.