The Top 25 Technology Disrupters Of 2025
These are the men and women who are pushing boundaries and turning the IT market on its ear.
The Top 25 Disrupters of 2025 have been answering the call from partners and customers to help companies improve their efficiency while also modernizing their IT environments.
Whether it’s helping customers and partners to adopt artificial intelligence practices, or making sure companies aren't blindsided by the latest cybersecurity threats, these 25 executives have been stepping up to meet the massive needs in the market. They have done so with the purpose of elevating and expanding the opportunities for solution provider partners.
Our list includes executives who’ve continually shown themselves to be game-changers in key industry segments ranging from artificial intelligence and network security, to cloud software and threat detection, to storage services and more.
What follows is our list of the Top 25 Technology Disrupters of 2025.
Be sure to also check out the complete list of CRN’s Top 100 Executives of 2025.
25. Doug Houghton
Director, Channels
Alkira
Tech trailblazer Houghton has been leading channels for the last three years for the network Infrastructure-as-a-Service upstart. Thanks to the triple-digit growth Alkira is seeing through the channel, the company’s business is growing and its partner ecosystem has been a driving force.
24. Aurelie Guerrieri
Chief Marketing, Alliances Officer
DataDome
DataDome helps businesses fight fraudulent online traffic. With advances in threat management barely keeping up with those in threat development, Guerrieri is the right leader at the right time—getting the word out about the company while ensuring it has the right partnerships.
23. Peter Miesen
Sr. Director, Sales
CyberPower
Miesen leads CyberPower’s relationship with its distributors and channel partners. He has put together a team of application engineers that can help resellers find the right solution for customers, a consultative approach that has been working well for partners newer to selling big UPS units.
22. Lori Cornmesser
VP, Channel, Alliance Sales
1Password
Cornmesser has overseen huge strides at password management and SaaS access management vendor 1Password in becoming channel-oriented, expanding from its roots as a consumer password management provider. Recent launches include an MSP version of its Enterprise Password Manager.
21. Bob Skelley
VP, Global Channel Strategy
Arctic Wolf
Skelley has helped to drive new channel-focused programs for Arctic Wolf partners in markets such as cybersecurity insurance and incident response. Other recent moves have included the launch of a revamped MSP program and an MSP-focused version of the vendor’s endpoint security offering.
20. Karl Soderlund
Global Channel Chief
Cato Networks
Soderlund spearheaded the revamp of Cato Networks’ channel program, which added a second tier that aims to help advanced partners differentiate. The debut of its Channel First Partner Program also provides improved simplicity and profitability along with unique new specialization tracks.
19. Mark Conley
VP, Americas Partner Sales
Cohesity
Conley is helping Cohesity go all out to challenge potential claimants to the data resiliency, management and security crown that it is already claiming as its own. He has built an army of channel partners to help carry the Cohesity message about security as a key component of data protection.
18. Peter and Matthew Cassar
Co-Founders, Co-CEOs
Sherweb
The Cassar brothers started disrupting software distribution with the founding of Sherweb in 1998. The company has since become a force in the global cloud marketplace for MSPs, with an expansion of software and services that help MSPs change customers’ status quo.
17. Jeff Monday
VP, Global Enterprise, Channel Sales
Qualcomm
Monday is leading the charge on Qualcomm’s commercial partner program for its Snapdragon X Series CPUs that he says are “hyper competitive” against Intel and AMD. The executive is also promising a “significant services opportunity” for Qualcomm’s channel partners.
16. Joseph Landes
Co-Founder, CRO
Nerdio
Call Landes the human signal booster for Microsoft cloud adoption. He is equipping solution providers with better technology for managing customer IT estates as customer interest grows in Azure as an alternative to legacy virtualization products and partner interest grows in Microsoft tools, including Intune.
15. Scott Lannum
Interim Managing Director, North America
HP Inc.
Lannum is a driven executive with a relentless focus on bottom-line results. This year he is leading HP partners to build a strong foundation of product innovation, giving solution providers the tools to deliver smarter, AI-powered solutions to their customers.
14. Jonathan McCormick
COO
Intermedia
McCormick, an 18-year Intermedia vet, has an impressive track record keeping the company innovative. Intermedia had a record-breaking year in 2024 and this year is looking to be strong as well as it is helping customers—through partners—modernize their communications.
13. Dan Tomaszewski
EVP, Channel
Kaseya
By championing MSPs and driving business impact, Tomaszewski is empowering thousands of MSPs to increase revenue. With a community-first mindset, he is amplifying customer voices and launching innovative programs that ensure partner success—helping transform the channel one MSP at a time.
12. Jeremiah Jenson
VP, North America Channel Partners Ecosystem
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Jenson’s return to HPE after seven years at AWS is paying off in a reinvigorated North America partner base. Only in the job since May, he has partners cheering a new focus on sales and field alignment to drive more joint co-selling between HPE sales teams and the channel.
11. Peter Klanian
SVP, North America Sales
Vertiv
With over 20 years of technology sales experience, Klanian has built a track record of focusing his teams on acquiring new customers and collaboration with the channel. He is leading Vertiv’s investment in the channel by driving revenue opportunities through partners with new recruitment programs.
10. Kevin Rooney
VP, Americas Channel Sales
Veeam Software
After Veeam first hit the market in 2008, it was the disrupter of the data protection business. Since then, particularly in the last nearly 10 years since Rooney took over Americas channel sales, Veeam became a leader in the industry, with Rooney now busy working to keep it on top against rivals.
9. Daniel Bernard
Chief Business Officer
CrowdStrike
Bernard oversaw a major channel expansion at CrowdStrike this year as the cybersecurity giant unveiled its new Services Partner Program. The program is seeing the company primarily rely on partners to deliver the services around its fast-growing Falcon Next-Gen SIEM offering.
8. Bill Scannell
President, Global Enterprise Sales, Customer Operations
Dell Technologies
Any vendors that want to challenge Dell Technologies’ No. 1 market position in storage know they have one person to beat—and that beating him will not be an easy task. Scannell’s reputation as a tough-as-nails sales leader is legendary throughout the industry.
7. Uli Seibold
VP, Global Partner Hybrid Solutions
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Seibold is an indefatigable partner advocate leading the charge on the HPE Private Cloud AI service provider opportunity and has helped countless partners transform into full-fledged GreenLake service providers. He is a fount of channel knowledge who is always available to help partners.
6. Kimberly King
Chief Partner Officer
PTC
King is driving PTC to simplify the industrial software vendor’s partner program, make services more profitable for partners and expand its reach through new engagements with ISVs and OEMs. The channel leader is also working to align partners with PTC’s vertical-focused sales teams.
5. Scott Chasin
CEO
Pax8
Chasin is steadfast on furthering the era of agentic AI, urging MSPs to evolve into Managed Intelligence Providers or risk being left behind. Chasin sees AI agents not just as tools but as a new labor force that is reshaping business operations. His message to MSPs is simple: Agentic AI isn’t coming, it’s already here.
4. Kyle Hanslovan
Co-Founder, CEO
Huntress
Hanslovan has expanded the Huntress platform into new categories, including managed SIEM, where the company aims to stand out by using highly efficient data collection techniques. Other recent debuts include an enhanced version of Huntress’ Managed Identity Threat Detection and Response offering.
3. Dan and Michael Schwab
Co-Presidents
D&H Distributing
The Schwab brothers have transformed the onetime SMB-focused distributor into a midmarket powerhouse winning over enterprise solution providers at a rapid clip. This comes even as D&H’s SMB segment saw its largest revenue growth year in its history at 23 percent.
2. Manny Rivelo
CEO
ConnectWise
Rivelo is heads-down focused on driving Industry 5.0, where AI and human intelligence converge to transform how MSPs operate and deliver value. With cybersecurity at the core, he is pushing for deep integration, more automation and a focus on community-driven growth.
1. Michael DePalma
VP, Business Development
OpenText
Since joining OpenText in March, DePalma has spearheaded the effort to help partners capture massive growth opportunities in cybersecurity—with a focus on key areas such as MDR.
Following the debut of OpenText MDR in December 2024, the offering has become the No. 1 discussion topic with partners when it comes to products, according to DePalma.
“MDR is a huge market opportunity for the channel,” he said in an interview with CRN.
And while OpenText offers its own security stack including EDR, which can be leveraged as part of the company’s MSP-focused MDR offering, “the differentiator is that we integrate with everybody. Our MDR can really work with whatever product the MSPs are using,” he said.
So regardless of whether a partner chooses to consolidate on OpenText’s platform or just use certain tools from the vendor, his goal is the same: “We’re going to be the easiest vendor for any MSP to work with.”