Cisco Partners Are ‘High-Fiving’ As Tim Coogan Is Named To Channel Chief Role
‘He gets it,’ one Cisco partner executive tells CRN regarding Coogan’s appointment this week as channel chief. Rodney Clark, Cisco’s channel leader for less than two years, is leaving the company.
Cisco’s decision to promote 25-year company veteran Tim Coogan to global channel chief has partners energized about the future of the tech giant’s channel strategy following some uncertainty regarding the direction of the recently revamped partner program.
Cisco revealed on Monday that Coogan, former senior vice president of Cisco’s U.S. commercial business, is assuming the global channel chief role held by Rodney Clark, a longtime Microsoft leader who was named Cisco channel chief in 2023.
Effective Monday, Coogan (pictured above) has become senior vice president of Cisco’s global partner sales organization. Clark is staying on as a strategic advisor through the end of the year, Cisco told CRN.
Manak Ahluwalia, CEO of Aqueduct Technologies, a Canton, Mass.-based Cisco Gold partner that grew its Cisco business by double digits in the last fiscal year, said he is “excited” about the appointment of Coogan to the channel chief seat.
“Tim gets it,” said Ahluwalia. “He understands where the partner provides value, the sales landscape, what it means to get down on the street. He has heard partners talk about profitability and operational challenges. He gets Cisco. That’s a great choice! Everybody else was an outsider. They came in, disrupted the whole program, tried to emulate things they did in the software space and now they are all gone. Now these guys have to hold the bag which means that I think they will be more receptive to changes and be more partner first.”
Cisco in October, under the direction of Clark, unveiled Cisco 360, a fully renovated partner program that was built to attract more MSPs and MSSPs with its focus on the value partners bring over transactions. The overhaul to Cisco’s 30-year-old iconic partner program represented a marked break from the biggest payouts going to partners landing large, capex infrastructure deals.
The company this spring released new details and timing of some of the changes coming for Cisco 360. On July 1, the tech giant released some highly-anticipated details into how partners will be evaluated and compensated in Cisco 360 exclusively to CRN, including the introduction of the Cisco Partner Incentive Estimator, a tool to help partners determine their profitability within the structure of the new partner program. Because the sweeping changes to the partner program will directly impact business operations and profitability for partners, Cisco is rolling out the changes in two phases, the first of which began on July 27.
Many Cisco partners, however, have expressed uncertainty in Cisco 360 and concern about some of the program’s changes, especially related to how they will be compensated.
With Coogan at the channel helm, Ahluwalia expects partner feedback on the challenges to the new program to “click” immediately.
“We won’t have to overly explain it,” he said. “Tim can see how it is beneficial or not beneficial. If our goal is to mutually sell more and retain the business we have this is the way we should be thinking about it. I’m super excited to have an advocate like Tim that not only understands Cisco but also understands the partner landscape. There is a lot of hesitation and fear as this new program gets rolled out. We feel a lot more comfortable knowing we have an advocate like Tim spearheading it now! We’re excited about the prospects of where Cisco is headed with the security investments they are making. Tim at the head of the channel program reinforces our view of the commitment of Cisco to the channel.”
Coogan, for his part, has held a number of positions for the company, most recently as senior vice president of Cisco’s U.S. commercial business where he oversaw more than $7 billion in annual product and service sales across a diverse customer base, including small and medium businesses as well as Fortune 1000 companies. Coogan also held the position of area vice president for Cisco’s Global Enterprise Segment.
Steve Wylie, vice president and general manager, northeast, for Cisco Gold partner Trace3, has known Coogan for years since Wylie spent seven years at Cisco before joining the solution provider giant.
“Tim is outstanding and a great choice for this role. During my time at Cisco and my time at Trace3, I’ve had the privilege of meeting with him numerous times and he gets it,” he said.
Wylie, despite being surprised by the sudden departure of Clark, said he “couldn’t be happier” for Coogan to step into the channel chief role.
“He’s going to do a great job for both Cisco and for the channel and with the changes on the horizon, Tim’s experience is exactly what is needed,” he said.
Wylie added that Coogan is a good leader and “huge” channel advocate.
“He works to understand the synergies needed between Cisco and the channel for us both to be successful,” he said.
One Cisco partner executive who spoke under the condition of anonymity said that “partners are high-fiving” the news of the new channel chief.
“[Coogan] has a ton of experience with partners. It’s a great move and we could not be happier,” the executive said.