Citrix Federal Channel Manager Moves to BEA

Word gets around when a person does good by the government channel. Just ask Ken Buckbinder, who rebuilt the federal channel program at Citrix -- a complete do-over, he says -- and recently joined BEA Systems to do a bit of the same.

Buckbinder starts at BEA on Monday as federal channel manager, charged to help develop the company's new government program. He proved himself qualified in his past life at Citrix, transforming a government participating dealer network, which offered set profits for partners through a preset discounting range. In so doing, he also made GovernmentVAR's 2005 list of government execs to watch.

"Anything priced above the floor, they keep," Buckbinder says. "The partners decide how much they're going to make on a deal. They loved it."

Experience in government -- 15 years, to be exact -- and success serving government partners is what got BEA's attention and led to the hire.

"They wanted someone that had experience in this market and familiarity with the channel," Buckbinder says.

Already, he suggested that the company do away with multiple cost tiers in the same vertical market; whether that happens at BEA remains to be seen.

"I don't know just yet what my specific role will be, but clearly my experience with government channel programs is where I can add a lot of value," Buckbinder says. "I just did this, and am looking forward to doing the same for BEA."