The 15 Blockbuster Channel Executive Moves Of 2015 (So Far)
New Beginnings
Many top vendors took a hit to their channel organizations in the first half of 2015, as Cisco, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, McAfee, Microsoft and SAP all lost key channel executives.
But the news wasn't all negative, as indirect sales leaders at EMC, HP and Lenovo have all received promotions and additional responsibilities thus far in 2015.
VARs also got in on the action, with top CRN Solution Provider 50 companies naming people from the outside as their next CEO, while three other SP 50 firms promoted from within to fill a corporate or regional CEO vacancy.
Read on to relive all the key channel executive moves so far in 2015. For more on the "coolest" of 2015, check out "CRN's Tech Midyear In Review."
Jenni Flinders
After 15 years with Microsoft, U.S. Partner Group Vice President Jenni Flinders left the company in April, CRN reported. Flinders posted on her Facebook page at the time that she was looking forward to her "new adventure," and her LinkedIn page lists her as CEO of "to be announced soon." Flinders had been with Microsoft since 2000, and since 2009, had worked to get more of Microsoft's 640,000 channel partners to sell cloud services. Before Microsoft, Flinders held positions at IBM and Lotus in South Africa.
Don Doctor
In their third CEO change in the past 26 months, CompuCom, No. 23 on the 2014 CRN SP 500, named Don Doctor as its new chief executive in February, taking over for interim CEO Jim Dixon. One of Doctor's first moves was to sell CompuCom's software business, which includes a select Microsoft licensing business, to SoftwareONE for an undisclosed amount. Doctor joined CompuCom's board of directors in May 2013 and was appointed executive chairman last August. Before that, Doctor was CEO of data center maintenance company SMS.
Bruce Klein
Bruce Klein left Cisco on July 27 after the past three years as the senior vice president of Cisco's Worldwide Partner Organization. Klein, an 11-year Cisco veteran who was popular among solution providers, "has decided to pursue other opportunities outside of Cisco," according to the company. Before becoming global channel chief, Klein spent eight years spearheading Cisco's public sector operations and 21 years leading HP's federal sales organization. Klein is one of many high-profile executives to leave the San Jose, Calif.-based vendor as Chuck Robbins replaces John Chambers as CEO.
Gavin Struthers
McAfee, a subdivision of Intel Security, lost its senior vice president of worldwide channels in March, when Gavin Struthers moved to a new role at Intel Security: president of Asia Pacific, responsible for business operations across Asia, India, Australia and New Zealand. Partners said they saw McAfee's channel business mature and grow dramatically under Struthers' guidance. Specifically, in his three years as McAfee's channel chief, Struthers ramped up channel incentives and programs and pushed partners to transition from a traditional reseller role to managed services.
Larry Prior
CSC, No. 5 on the 2015 CRN SP 500, in July announced who will lead its $4.1 billion public sector business after it splits from the rest of the company in October. Tapped for the role was Larry Prior, who for the past nine months has served as executive vice president and general manager of CSC's North American public sector business unit. Prior's appointment as CEO of Computer Sciences Government Services still need to be approved by the new company's board of directors. Before joining CSC in May 2013 as vice president of the defense and intelligence groups, Prior served as chief operating officer at BAE Systems and president and chief operating officer of ManTech.
Chris Riley
As part of a move to tighten links between its channel and direct sales teams, EMC in May named Chris Riley as senior vice president of enterprise sales. In his new role, Riley has overseen the July rollout of a "federation-ready" partner program. Three months earlier, Riley's noncompete agreement with HP expired, allowing him to step up and become EMC's senior vice president of global alliances. Riley brings more than 21 years of storage sales experience to his latest role, including a stint at EMC from 1987 to 1999. Riley's second stint with EMC began in early 2014, after departing at vice president and general manager of the Americas for HP storage.
Tami Duncan
After serving as IBM's North American channel chief for 19 months, Tami Duncan left IBM in July. The 20-year IBM veteran, who took over as vice president of global business partners in February 2014, left Big Blue of her own will to help reorient her life and career in a different direction, according to a company spokesperson. In a blog post, Marc Dupaquier, IBM general manager of global business partners, credited Duncan with helping partners advance their business transformation efforts. Duncan is being replaced by Michele Stern, a 34-year IBM veteran who has held the position of vice president of global business partner sales for the past 18 months.
Alan Marc Smith
In tandem with an announcement that it had been acquired by private equity firm Millstein & Co., DLT Solutions, No. 35 on the 2015 CRN SP 500, announced that Alan Marc Smith would be replacing Rick Marcotte -- who led the company for more than 10 years -- as CEO. Smith is an operating partner of Millstein & Co., and is known in the channel as the former CEO of Westcon Group. Smith told CRN that he remained committed to DLT's current business model and wanted only to "augment" the product offering with services rather than undertaking a drastic overhaul.
Julie Spellman Sweet
In Accenture's second top executive move within a year for North America, the system integrator giant, No. 2 on the 2015 CRN SP 500, named Julie Spellman Sweet as its new chief executive for the region. Sweet had been with the company since 2010, most recently as general counsel, secretary and chief compliance officer. Sweet will remain on Accenture's Global Management Committee in her new role, and will also be responsible for leading the company's business in North America. She replaces longtime company executive Stephen Rohleder, who is expected to retire Aug. 31.
Stephanie Dismore
Hewlett-Packard rising star Stephanie Dismore in March was named the company's new vice president and general manager of U.S. channels for its printing and PC business, replacing Scott Dunsire. The 16-year HP veteran now will be responsible for overseeing Americas commercial channel sales and partner development. Dismore will be positioned to drive the channel program for printing- and PC-focused HP Inc. once the vendor splits in two later this year. Before taking the new role, Dismore served as vice president and general manager of U.S. consumer sales at HP.
Chris Frey
Lenovo channel chief Chris Frey got an expanded role in January, adding responsibilities of overseeing the company's commercial businesses, SMB and large accounts. He will also continue to be responsible for Lenovo's North American channel sales. In his new role, Frey has helped Lenovo develop a new business unit that launched April 1 dedicated to developing products and solutions for doctors, hospitals and university medical centers. Frey's new title is vice president and general manager of Lenovo's North American commercial business. He replaced 10-year Lenovo veteran Thomas Looney, who retired.
Kevin Gilroy
One of SAP's top channel executives and a key driver behind the software company's expanded sales to small and midsize businesses through the channel left the company in July to pursue other opportunities. Kevin Gilroy joined SAP in January 2010 as head of its North American channel operations and became the head of SAP's global channel business in January 2012. In that role, Gilroy expanded SAP's reputation beyond selling enterprise-class ERP and CRM applications to Fortune 500 companies. Gilroy gained a new boss in May 2014 when Rodolpho Cardenuto was named president of SAP's Global Partner Operations (GPO) organization.
Bob Skelley
Bob Skelley, Dell executive director of North American channel sales, jumped from the vendor to Cambridge, Mass.-based Infinio in April. He is serving as vice president of global channels for the storage performance technology developer. Infinio said it will leverage Skelley's extensive channel background to build its own partner program, which Skelley told CRN was a huge draw. Dell's regional teams will report to David Miketinac, executive director for channel sales.
Stephen DiFranco
Longtime executive Stephen DiFranco was the latest top-level executive to depart HP, writing in his LinkedIn profile in June that he had left the vendor for a role at Irvine, Calif.-based chipmaker Broadcom. The moves came at a pivotal time for both companies, with HP approaching its split into two Fortune 50 companies and Broadcom navigating its recent acquisition by Avago Technologies. DiFranco will now be senior vice president of worldwide channels for the Internet of Things at Broadcom. He most recently served as vice president of the Americas enterprise channels at HP.
Dee Burger
Capgemini Consulting, the global strategy and consulting arm of $11.5 billion Capgemini Group, No. 5 on the 2014 CRN SP 500, announced in March that Dee Burger was its new North American CEO. The longtime company executive has been with Capgemini for more than 12 years, most recently as global sector lead for the company's telecom, media and entertainment practice. Burger replaces former CEO Ken Toombs. In his new role, Burger will be responsible for driving the company's vision around consulting and digital transformation.