Top Channels Execs in Software
Tim D. Cook
See background in Peripherals.
VARBusiness' take: With the successful release of OS X behind it, many are wondering where Apple is going to make money next in software. Safari? Not likely. Its suite of applications are compelling, but the business model needs some tweaking.
Jan Burton VP of global strategy and distribution at Avaya
Burton is responsible for distributor and major account relationships in the United States, business-development efforts and global channel strategies. Burton also manages overall channel programs.
VARBusiness' take: Avaya's bread-and-butter are LANs, switches and communication equipment. The company has a small presence with its security and messaging software, and it may sell its connectivity software business.
Morris Beton VP and GM of Alliances at BEA Systems
Beton joined BEA in 2002 and is responsible for providing best-of-breed industry vertical and cross-industry solutions through BEA's hardware partners, independent software vendors and system integrators. He has also held positions at Attachmate, IBM and Microsoft.
VARBusiness' take: Coming from Microsoft, Beton's focus is on the SMB market. However, BEA is known more for its direct sales than its strong partnerships, which will stunt an SMB initiative.
Paige Erickson VP of Channels and Alliances at BMC Software
Erickson joined BMC Software in July 1994 as a regional sales manager and has held numerous sales-management positions in Americas Sales. Prior to BMC, she was with IBM for more than 13 years.
VARBusiness' take: BMC was wise to acquire Remedy. BMC should create a single alliance and integrator program and involve its strong direct sales culture to give input on where more partner solution and integration help is needed.
Greg Tanner Director of N. American Channel Sales at Borland
Tanner is responsible for managing the overall relationship with Borland's distributors, VARs and Enterprise Business Partners. He joined Borland in 2001 from Allaire, where he served as senior field account manager. Tanner also has held several managerial positions at Apple and HP.
VARBusiness' take: With a focus on developers, Borland could lose more ground to competitors who are going to market with partners around solutions.
Neil McNamara VP of Sales, Western Hemisphere at Check Point Software Technologies
McNamara, who joined Check Point in 1999, has more than 18 years of experience in the computer and networking industry. He manages all of Check Point's sales to North and South America, including the Caribbean and the U.S. federal government.
VARBusiness' take: Check Point has its fair share of partner dissatisfaction. It should try to build trust back with partners by sticking to clear rules of engagement.
John Burris Senior VP of Worldwide Sales and Services at Citrix Systems
Burris is primarily responsible for generating revenue in North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, EMEA and the Pacific, while overseeing worldwide services and maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction. Burris joined Citrix in 1999.
VARBusiness' take: Burris' challenges are to quickly and decisively trim less productive partners, giving those partners that are producing a greater market opportunity.
George Kafkarkou Senior VP of Worldwide Channel Sales at Computer Associates
Kafkarkou joined CA in 1982 and is tasked with growing the company's channel business. Prior to his current position, he was GM and senior VP of distributed enterprise management software in Europe.
VARBusiness' take: Kafkarkou is just getting started at making changes to CA's channel programs, including beefing up head count and making strides toward unifying goals and quotas for channel and direct-sales teams. He is very focused on competing in the storage and backup markets.
Ken Bero VP of N. American Channel Sales at Crystal Decisions
Bero is responsible for developing and implementing a strategy that builds on existing channel relationships and expanding new channel partnering opportunities. Prior to joining Crystal Decisions, he was executive VP of Navidec.
VARBusiness' take: Crystal Decisions has tried to be everything to everybody. Bero needs to simplify partner programs so potential partners know how to engage with company.
Katharine Wolanyk Chief Alliance Officer at Divine
Wolanyk joined Divine in 1999 and is one of its founders. She is responsible for identifying, structuring and nurturing Divine's corporate strategic alliances. She also advises the company on corporate and intellectual property legal matters.
VARBusiness' take: Despite its great focus on solutions, engagement from VARs is dwindling due to conflict with Divine's own managed services offerings. That needs to be addressed.
Gregg Ambulos VP of Global Channels at EMC
Ambulos maintains relationships with OEMs, VARs and integrators. He has been with the company for five years. Prior company affiliations include Hitachi, where Ambulos held numerous management positions.
VARBusiness' take: Although rocked by internal upheaval, EMC is still the storage kingpin. With a new software architecture in the works, EMC needs allies more than ever. Better keep that direct sales force in check.
John Erdman VP of Global Channel Operations at Enterasys Networks
Erdman is chief architect of Enterasys Networks' Partner Program, responsible for ensuring the company's internal processes, development, manufacturing and marketing activities support the channel. He has more than 20 years of channel sales experience.
VARBusiness' take: Revenue continues to slide and losses mount. To combat that, Enterasys has added Westcon to sign up more VARs. But that could lead to margin erosion for those who already carry the product.
Lilo Newberry STAT Managing Director at Harris (STAT)
Newberry leads the strategy for developing and commercializing the advanced network security software technology across Harris' Security Threat Avoidance Technology business unit. She is responsible for overall management, including engineering, business development, product strategy and sales.
VARBusiness' take: Win by specializing, not by competing head-on with Symantec and ISS. Have one team focused on government integrators that have long-standing relationships with Harris, a second team focused on best-of-breed security consulting firms, and a third team focused on OEM licensing.
Dan Vertrees VP of Americas Enterprise Partners at HP
Vertrees drives HP's revenue and profitability of enterprise products and solutions, in addition to market penetration of the services, personal systems, and printing and imaging business. He has more than 30 years of experience in the IT industry, managing multiple sales and distribution channels.
VARBusiness' take: Perhaps the least competitive area of HP's business, the company lags behind both IBM and Sun here. New acquisitions could help, but can HP really take on another integration job so close to its completion of the Compaq deal?
Scott Cooper VP of Worldwide SMB Channels Mktg. at IBM
Cooper is responsible for the company's overall software channels and SMB marketing plan. Prior to this role, Scott was VP of Lotus Solutions and a founding member of a Kodak subsidiary that built the first companion product for Lotus Notes.
VARBusiness' take: IBM is looking for friends in the channel who will help it penetrate SMB accounts and increase its mindshare among individual developers. In others words, it wants you.
Rob Simonds VP of Worldwide Channel Operations at Legato Systems
Simonds joined Legato Systems in June 2001, with 20 years' industry experience in mainframe, data-warehousing and data-management software sectors. At Legato, Simonds has led the development and launch of a new Global Partner Program, based around tiered levels of support.
VARBusiness' take: Company is doing well from program restructure last year. It should measure partner value from more than a revenue standpoint because that just rewards the biggest VARs, not the best or the most loyal.
David Mendels Chief Strategy Officer and Senior VP of Macromedia Alliance at Macromedia
Mendels leads the Macromedia Alliance program. He began his career at Macromedia in the international department, with responsibility for Latin America sales and Asia Pacific marketing. He also has run U.S. strategic programs and alliances.
VARBusiness' take: Mendels is battling back from a few challenges, such as integrating Allaire products and partners. Macromedia should concentrate on growing commitment and engagement with solution providers, as well as developers.
Jeff Young VP of N. American Sales, Mktg. and Services at Microsoft Business Solutions
Young is a 12-year veteran with Microsoft Business Solutions, and has held key product and management roles during his tenure, including director of product development, development manager and senior project leader. Before his current role, Young served as VP of product development.
VARBusiness' take: Use new CRM offerings to aggressively expand installed base. For customers with 100++employees, use ERM and SCM partner training to increase knowledge of methodology, vertical-market implementations, and migration from QuickBooks. For small businesses, expand channels with new background-level .Net offering.
Allison Watson VP of Worldwide Partner Sales and Mktg. at Microsoft
Before accepting her current position, Watson was chief of staff for Kevin Johnson, senior VP of Microsoft Americas, where she drove several business-development projects. She also served as GM of the Washington, D.C.-based Mid-Atlantic district, directing the sales, marketing and consulting teams.
VARBusiness' take: With more money to spend than any other software company, Watson has cash, clout and ideas aplenty. Now if she can only get past some lingering licensing issues.
Michael Menegay Senior VP of N. America Channel at Network Associates
Menegay is a veteran of indirect and direct sales channels in the high-tech sector, with more than 22 years of experience in the ownership and management of successful VAR and channel organizations. He joined Network Associates in August 2001 as VP of McAfee Channels & Alliances for North America.
VARBusiness' take: Excellent focus on training and enterprise customers. The company has an opportunity to gain share by continuing to empower partners' services offerings.
Nancy Reynolds VP of N. American Channel Sales at Novell
Reynolds is directly responsible for the development and execution of Novell's channel-sales strategy and partner programs for North America. She has more than 17 years of channel and field sales experience to Novell, including 14 years of managing various channel sales teams and programs within Novell.
VARBusiness' take: Reynolds has done a credible job holding the Novell community together, but now she's trimming back Platinum headcount. That will cause some pain, but could ultimately strengthen company's hand.
Alfonso Dilanni Senior VP of Mktg. and Global Partnering at Oracle
Dilanni is responsible for providing leadership to all field marketing and partnering resources and driving Oracle's partnering strategy globally. He joined Oracle in March 1997 from Digital Equipment.
VARBusiness' take: Oracle has innovative agent programs in the works that will pay generous fees to allies, but lingering concerns remain about company's dedication to partners.
David Ireland President at Progress Software
Ireland is responsible for the worldwide business strategy and operations for the company's current and future product lines. He joined Progress Software in 1997 as VP of core products and services and most recently served as VP of worldwide field operations.
VARBusiness' take: Midmarket strength and partner focus have paid off for Ireland. His company continues to thrive, even during this down market.
Grant Wilson Senior VP of Global Sales Operation and Channel at PTC
Wilson is responsible for all sales operations activities, including compensation, quotas, sales support, business development, recruitment and training. He joined PTC in 1992 as a sales representative. He has since held many positions, ranging from a district manager to a sector VP.
VARBusiness' take: Still challenged in creating an effective channel. Should try simplifying partner categories and tiers to make it easier for potential partners to work with company.
Gary Fromer VP of Small and Midsize Business and Hosting at SAP America
Fromer is responsible for overseeing SAP America's SMB VAR channel sales and operations, the mySAP All-in-One and SAP Business One solution portfolios and sales of SAP hosting services. He joined SAP America in 1998 as senior corporate counsel.
VARBusiness' take: It's a waste not to leverage the experience SAP has in channel sales to enterprises in the SMB market, rather than starting channel programs for the Business One offering from scratch.
Rick Fitzgerald VP and GM of Channel Solutions Group at Siemens Enterprise Networks
Fitzgerald is responsible for expanding the ranks of Siemens indirect sales partners in the United States. He joined the company in 1984 and has held a variety of executive management positions, including VP of sales for the Eastern portion of the United States and VP/GM for small and midsize business.
Gary Grimes VP of U.S. Partner Mgt. & Sales at Sun Microsystems
See background in Peripherals.
VARBusiness' take: The software strategy remains a muddle, though SunOne is clarifying the company's position as a tech leader. More marketing refinement is needed to help VARs make sense of the vast software portfolio.
Marty Beard VP of Corporate Development at Sybase
Beard is responsible for the company's corporate development functions, including all aspects of strategic planning, acquisitions and venture investments. He is also responsible for developing and managing major strategic partnerships as well as Sybase's global partner and developer programs.
VARBusiness' take: Don't go head-on with Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. Provide partners with better training, PS knowledge transfer and marketing in specific segments of mobile database, BI and financial verticals.
Allyson Seelinger VP of N. American Channel Sales at Symantec
Seelinger, who joined Symantec in 1987, is responsible for sales and marketing activities within the consumer, distribution, OEM, VAR and corporate VAR segments. Her industry background includes senior management positions in regional sales (both channel and enterprise), marketing and distribution.
VARBusiness' take: Symantec VARs are pretty happy with the flow of communications the company offers through mailings and its portals, which has matured during the past 18 months into a truly robust and efficient tool for channel management.
Lane Bess Senior VP of N. American Sales and Channel Mgt. at Trend Micro
Bess' goal is to build a strong partner- and customer-focused team. He has 20 years of sales and marketing experience, with expertise in driving the sales of complex computer and software solutions to Fortune 500 enterprises through premium, value-added channel partners.
VARBusiness' take: Continue to expand Trend Micro's enterprise success with special planning, training and programs for Premium Partners. Also, should help partners implement their own subscription services for storage, e-mail and mobile antivirus.
Michael Sotnick VP of Partner Sales at Veritas Software
Sotnick is responsible for defining Veritas' global, multitier channel strategy and managing North American partner sales. He has been with the company since it was acquired by Seagate Software in 1999. Prior to this role, Sotnick served as vice president of global partner sales
VARBusiness' take: Partners hold the key as Veritas continues to expand into enterprise data management and business availability. Should provide specialty training and channel co-marketing in cooperation with BEA, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and Sun.
Kristin Kaufman VP of Worldwide Strategic Alliances, Partners and Channels at Vignette
Kaufman is responsible for developing and driving business opportunities with current and future partners and solution providers. Prior to joining Vignette, Kaufman served as GM of partners and alliances for the corporate account business unit at HP.
VARBusiness' take: Financials require triage and focus. Kaufman should work closely with the 20 percent of consulting partner that bring in 80 percent of partner business. And, as Microsoft gets aggressive in content management, avoid expanding into horizontal channels.