HPE Snags AWS Global Leader Jeremiah Jenson As New VP North America Channel Ecosystem In ‘Huge Win’ For Partners

‘This is a like a shot of adrenaline for partners to see a channel executive like Jeremiah Jenson jump from the top public cloud provider, AWS, to HPE,’ said CPP Associates Managing Partner Pat O’Dell.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Global Leader of Channel Resell Partners Jeremiah Jenson – a 16-year Hewlett Packard Enterprise channel veteran – has come back home to HPE as the new vice president of North America channel and partner ecosystem.

Jenson (pictured) – a seven-year AWS channel veteran who was widely recognized for driving big channel improvements at AWS– is replacing former North America Channel Chief Phil Soper, who stepped aside suddenly in March.

Jenson’s return to HPE – where he was vice president of North America Enterprise Channels and was credited with making significant channel gains – is being hailed as a channel game changer by partners.

“This is a huge win for HPE and its partners,” said Pat O’Dell, the managing partner at HPE partner Clinton, N.J.-based CPP Associates. “This is a like a shot of adrenaline for partners to see a channel executive like Jeremiah Jenson jump from the top public cloud provider, AWS, to HPE. It is a validation of (HPE CEO) Antonio Neri’s GreenLake hybrid cloud vision. AWS is the 800-pound gorilla in the public cloud environment and is both a partner and competitor to HPE. Why would the leader of AWS’ global channel come back to HPE if he didn’t believe in the HPE hybrid cloud story?”

O’Dell, who heads up the HPE North America partner advisory council, said he sees the appointment providing a boost to CPP’s popular Infrastructure Anywhere Assessments, which provides recommendations to customers on where best to run workloads in public cloud, on premises or in a hybrid model.

“With seven years’ experience running channels for AWS, Jeremiah is going to be able to provide tremendous insights to help us and other partners doing similar assessments,” he said.

O’Dell, who worked with Jenson during his tenure at HPE, said Jenson’s knowledge of HPE will be critical in helping drive the HPE channel forward. “Jeremiah knows the inner workings of HPE,” he said. “Knowing the people on day one, and the mindset and the culture is definitely an advantage.”

C.R. Howdyshell, CEO of Advizex, a Fulcrum IT Partners company, No. 115 on the 2024 CRN Solution Provider 500, said the return of Jenson brings new energy and vitality to the HPE channel.

“This brings instant credibility back to the HPE channel programs and the HPE hybrid cloud and AI strategy established by Antonio Neri,” said Howdyshell, who has transformed Advizex into an AI powerhouse. “AWS has invested heavily in AI. Jeremiah brings strong experience and vision to what HPE is doing in AI and how HPE can bring those AI solutions to market.”

In fact, Howdyshell said he sees the appointment providing “momentum” around the all-important HPE Private Cloud AI sales offensive. “I see this bringing more energy and focus around the AI channel vision for HPE and its partner community so we can execute confidently on it. This is going to reinstall confidence and energy around what HPE is doing with AI.”

Howdyshell said he also sees the Jenson appointment providing a shot in the arm to the HPE GreenLake pay-per-use cloud service. “Our as a service business is seeing robust growth this year and HPE is a big part of that,” he said.

Felise Katz, the CEO of PKA Technologies, Montvale, New Jersey, No. 438 on the CRN SP500, called Jenson a “trusted” advocate for the partner community.

“Jeremiah has always been a trusted advisor to partners,” said Katz. “I have a lot of respect for him and everything he has accomplished. He leads by example. It’s good to have him back! I can’t wait for the success!”

Dan Schwab, co-president of D&H Distributing, a longtime HPE distributor, said Jenson is “highly respected” for his channel knowledge and for building deep, long-lasting relationships with partners.

“I have nothing but great compliments for Jeremiah and his channel vision and abilities,” said Schwab. “I believe the channel knowledge Jeremiah has gleaned at AWS as it relates to the cloud and advanced technologies will augment and accelerate HPE’s strategy.”

Jenson — who will be responsible for driving HPE strategy and business operations for the North America partners and ecosystem — will report to HPE Managing Director of North America Sales Paul Hunter.

"I am pleased to welcome Jeremiah Jenson back to HPE to lead the North America Channel and Partner Ecosystem team,” said Hunter in a prepared statement. “He has the admiration and respect of the partner community and I look forward to working with him as we continue to build on our success with partners and delivering solution-oriented results for our customers to help them drive their businesses forward.”

Jenson, who was unavailable for an interview, said in a prepared statement: “I am excited to rejoin HPE to lead the North America Channel organization, working with a company that has always been channel focused. With a world-class portfolio, together I know we can accelerate growth and transformation in an ever-evolving industry, especially as we harness the opportunity of AI to drive business outcomes with customers across every vertical.”

HPE said over the course of his career, Jenson has been “responsible for driving more than $20 billion in revenue with a track record of building high-performing teams and pioneering new revenue streams and routes to market.”

Jenson’s 2017 CRN Channel Chief honor cited his “experience, knowledge, strengths and passion” as “proven accelerators in driving successful growth, performance and strong relationships within HPE and HPE channel partners.”

Among Jenson’s accomplishments during his HPE tenure were driving channel revenue share gains and leading the integration of HPE Aruba, Nimble and Simplivity into the HPE enterprise channel.

Jenson also revamped the deal registration process and made process changes that resulted in a 75 percent reduction in time to quote.

At AWS, Jenson led the resale strategy and go-to-market, including revenue, scale, capacity, and partner development.

Jenson posted on LinkedIn on Friday that he was leaving AWS after what he called a “small regional role” quickly grew into a multibillion-dollar business. “When AWS decides to move, they move fast,” said Jenson in the LinkedIn post.

Bob Panos, president of American Digital, Schaumburg, Ill., a top HPE enterprise partner, said he couldn’t be happier that Jenson is making the move from AWS back to HPE.

“It’s a great move by HPE to bring a familiar face back to HPE who now has hyperscalar experience,” he said. “I love this! Jeremiah is going to bring a different perspective that is going to help drive HPE into the future.”