2017 Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs: Round 1 Matchup Breakdowns

Let's Dance

The Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs is back for its third year, with Round 1 voting kicking off Thursday. Starting with 32 channel chiefs from CRN's 2017 Most Influential Channel Chiefs, the annual Channel Madness tournament pits the chiefs against one another in a bracket-style contest where CRN readers pick the winner.

With over 350,000 votes in last year's contest, Sandra Glaser Cheek of Ruckus Wireless emerged as the champion, defeating AT&T's Brooks McCorcle in the championship round. Cheek returns this year to defend her crown following a very busy 12 months for Ruckus, in which ownership of the wireless vendor changed hands three times.

Despite the turmoil, Cheek will need the support of Ruckus partners to continue this year as she defends her title. McCorcle is also back, as well other channel stalwarts, including Cisco's Wendy Bahr, Extreme's Bob Gault and VMware's Frank Rauch.

The tournament will pit these vets and others against top channel execs at some of the industry's hottest young companies.

Here we present the Round 1 matchups. Go to CRN.com/madness on March 16th to cast your Round 1 votes.

Infrastructure – Round 1

Shannon Sbar, APC vs. David Helfer, F5

The 2017 Channel Madness Tournament Of Chiefs kicks off in the Infrastructure region, with Shannon Sbar returning for her second tournament appearance. Sbar made her mark in the inaugural Channel Madness tournament, reaching the Field of Four in 2015. Sbar boasts nearly two decades of experience in the channel, nine of which she's spent as channel chief at APC. Sbar's past support indicates she's in line for another big run, but she'll have to get tournament newcomer David Helfer in Round 1.

Helfer is just under a year in his role as VP of worldwide channels at F5, but he has been in the channel for almost 15 years, having previously served in channel roles for Juniper and Lookout. F5 touts that 95 percent of its revenue comes from its partners and Helfer will certainly need their support if he wants to get past a tournament-tested competitor like Sbar.

Infrastructure – Round 1

Wendy Bahr, Cisco vs. Ralph Nimergood, Commvault

Cisco's Wendy Bahr is making her second appearance in the tournament, hoping to avoid the one and done fate she suffered in her debut last year. In her role as Cisco's SVP Global Partner Organization, Bahr is responsible for managing and supporting 60,000 global partners. She'll need some of that support returned her way as she takes on Commvault's Ralph Nimergood in Round 1.

Despite being a fresh face to the Channel Madness tournament, Nimergood is certainly not a newcomer to the channel. Nimergood, who took on the VP of worldwide channels roles at Commvault in 2012, has over 25 years of experience in the channel.

Infrastructure – Round 1

Bob Gault, Extreme vs. Terry Richardson, HPE

Terry Richardson, VP, U.S. channel sales at HPE, is making his Channel Madness debut in 2017. Last year, Richardson's colleague Kerry Bailey represented for a newly separated HPE with an appearance in the Infrastructure region's Solutions 16. It was an impressive run that ultimately that ended in disappointment at the hands of Bob Gault. Extreme's EVP of worldwide sales made his presence known in last year's tournament, winning the Infrastructure region before losing in the Field of Four to eventual champion Sandra Glaser Cheek.

Combined, the two have over 40 years of experience in the channel. Gault hass what it takes to advance, Richardson has revenge on his mind. Who will get the votes needed to advance to Round 2?

Infrastructure – Round 1

Curtiz Gangi, Eaton vs. Scott Dunsire, HPE

Closing things out in the Infrastructure region, Eaton's Curtiz Gangi makes his tournament return against HPE's second representative, Scott Dunsire. Gangi, Sales VP, U.S. Channels at Eaton, failed to make it out of the first round last year, losing to eventual champion Sandra Glaser Cheek.

Gangi has over 25 years of experience in the channel and has been at the forefront of Eaton's channel enablement and development efforts. He'll leverage that experience as he squares off with Dunsire, HPE's VP & GM of NA channels, who has over 20 years of channel experience himself.

Dunsire leaned on his channel DNA to score a Round 1 victory in last year's tournament, but fell in the second round to Infrastructure region winner Bob Gault.

Hardware - Round 1

Sandra Glaser Cheek, Brocade vs. Bill Lipsin, NetApp

The Hardware region gets underway with last year's champion, Sandra Glaser Cheek of Brocade facing off with NetApp's Bill Lipsin. It's been an interesting 12 months since Cheek took down the Channel Madness tournament. Her employer, Ruckus Wireless, was purchased Brocade Communications in June. In November, semiconductor maker Broadcom acquired Brocade for $5.9 billion. Then, last month, Arris International agreed buy Brocade's network-edge portfolio, which includes Ruckus.

Acquisitions aside, Cheek dominated last year in her tournament debut, defeating AT&T's McCorcle by securing 83 percent of the championship round votes. Her road to repeat starts with a Round 1 matchup with Bill Lipsin. NetApp's VP of worldwide channels might be making his tournament debut, but he has over 30 years of experience in the channel, with previous stints at CA and the aforementioned Brocade.

Hardware - Round 1

John Byrne, Dell EMC vs. Nick Tidd, Polycom

In 2015 and 2016, there were three representatives from either Dell or EMC in the Channel Madness tournament. With the closing of the largest acquisition in technology history, Dell EMC is now one company, and in 2017, it has a lone representative in the tournament. John Byrne, president of global channels at Dell EMC, is making his tournament debut, backed by a channel program that boasts over 150,000 partners worldwide. Byrne will need the support of his company's massive partner-base if he wants to get past his Round 1 opponent, Polycom's Nick Tidd.

Tidd brings over 25 years of experience to his role as VP of Polycom's global partner organization. A previous CRN 'Most Influential' channel chief in 2015 while at Condusiv, Tidd will test the waters of the Channel Madness tournament for the first time.

Hardware - Round 1

Sammy Kinlaw, Lenovo vs. Donna Grothjan, Aruba/HPE

Sammy Kinlaw made his tournament debut last year, besting chiefs at HP Inc. and Intel for a trip to the Enterprise 8. Despite the hot start, however, it wasn't meant to be for Lenovo's North American chief. Kinlaw lost in Round 3 to the eventual champ, Ruckus' Cheek. Kinlaw is back for a second go-at-it in 2017 though and draws a tough opponent in Aruba/HPE's Donna Grothjan in Round 1. Grothjan, VP of worldwide channels, will lean on the support of Aruba's Partner Ready For Networking program as she makes her tournament debut.

Hardware - Round 1

Greg Taylor, Samsung vs. Stephanie Dismore, HP

HP's Stephanie Dismore is back again in the Channel Madness tournament as she squares off with Samsung's Greg Taylor in their Round 1 Hardware region matchup. Dismore, VP of Americas channels at HP, suffered a difficult Round 1 loss to Lenovo's Kinlaw last year. Dismore will look to rally back this year as she squares off with Taylor, VP of sales at Samsung. Taylor has been in indirect sales for over 25 years and has been at the helm of Samsung's channel for five years. Who will get enough support to sail into the Solutions 16? Only the votes will tell.

Cloud - Round 1

Brooks McCorcle, AT&T vs. Jon Whitlock, Carbonite

Things heat up quickly in the Cloud region as last year's Field of Four representative, AT&T's Brooks McCorcle, squares off with Carbonite's Jon Whitlock. Whitlock, Carbonite's VP of channel sales & marketing is making his tournament debut in 2017. McCorcle has been at AT&T for over 25 years, but is still fairly new to the channel, having taken the chief role four years ago. McCorcle was at victory's door in 2016, but if she wants to get a foot inside this year she'll need to get past Whitlock in Round 1.

Cloud - Round 1

Rob Rae, Datto vs. Eric Martorano, Intermedia.net

Speaking of Rob Rae, Datto's VP of business development is back for his second Channel Madness tournament. Rae will need the support of Datto's 8,000 partners and its 100 percent channel philosophy to get by his Round 1 opponent, channel veteran Eric Martorano.

Martorano is leaning on his 23 years of channel experience in his new role as Intermedia's SVP, worldwide sales. While Martorano made quite the name for himself at Microsoft, time will if he's resonated enough with Intermedia's partners to gain the support he needs to move on to Round 2.

Cloud - Round 1

David Powell, LogicMonitor vs. Janet Schijns, Verizon

The third matchup in the Cloud region features two tournament newcomers - LogicMonitor's David Powell against Verizon's Janet Schijns. While new to the tournament, neither competitor is a stranger to the channel, boasting a combined 44 years of channel experience. Powell brings 20 years of indirect high-tech sales experience to his role as GM of LogicMonitor's service provider business. Schijns, who last year took the channel reigns at Verizon from former tournament darling Adam Famularo, boasts nearly 25 years of experience in the channel. Schijns was previously VP of enterprise marketing at Verizon where she worked closely with its channel. She'll need the voting support of those partners to get into Round 2.

Cloud - Round 1

Frank Rauch, VMware vs. Bertrand Yansouni, Google

Round 1 of the Cloud region closes out with a matchup of old versus new. Frank Rauch, VP of VMware's Americas partner organization, is making his third tournament appearance.

In 2015, Rauch made an impressive run to the Solutions 16, knocking off AT&T's McCorcle on his way. The next year? McCorcle got her revenge, returning the favor with a Round 2 victory over Rauch. Rauch could have a chance at a best of three matchup with McCorcle if the two can make it the Cloud region's Solutions 16, but to get there, he'll have to best Bertrand Yansouni. Google's VP of global partner sales and strategic alliances is making his tournament debut in 2017.

While only a few months into the channel chief role, Yansouni has 15 years of indirect experience under his belt. Will Yansouni garner the support needed from Google partners to make a splash or will Rauch keep his Round 1 mojo going?

Software - Round 1

Joe Sykora, Fortinet vs. Bill Swales, Oracle

On to the Software region, where a handful of chiefs are making their tournament debut. Among them are Fortinet's Joe Sykora and Oracle's Bill Swales, though both have some serious channel experience. Sykora, VP of Americas channel and enhanced technology at Fortinet, has been in the channel business for 20 years. Swales, group VP of North American channels at Oracle, has been in the channel business for 17 years. Both will need that to translate to partner support in order to get the votes needed to move on to Round 2.

Software - Round 1

Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh, Salesforce vs. Steve Pataky, Sonicwall

Steve Pataky brings nearly 30 years of channel experience to his gig as the head of Sonicwall's channels. In his short time in the role, Pataky spearheaded the launch of Sonicwall's new global channel program. Will that partner-friendly mojo gain the support needed to get past his Round 1 opponent, Salesforce's Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh.

Taychakhoonavudh, Salesforce's SVP of partner programs, is making her tournament debut. While looking to "add more qualified partners" is a goal in 2017, Taychakhoonavudh will need the support of Salesforce's current partner base to get her to the Solutions 16.

Software - Round 1

Kendra Krause, Sophos vs. Brooke Cunningham Splunk

Kendra Krause has some big shoes to fill as she represents Sophos in the Channel Madness tournament. Krause's colleague, Mike Valentine, won the inaugural tournament in 2015 and nearly repeated in 2016, making it to the Field of Four. While a newcomer to the tournament, Krause is no stranger to the channel, clocking in with nearly 20 years of experience.

There's been no shortage of support from Sophos' 26,000 worldwide partners in previous years and Krause will definitely need it as she faces off with Brooke Cunningham. Cunningham represents Splunk's channel after spending five years as Qlik's partner marketing chief.

Software - Round 1

Gavriella Schuster, Microsoft vs. Mark Enzweiler, Red Hat

Mark Enzweiler is the lone veteran of the Software region, making his third appearance in the tournament. Red Hat's SVP of global channel sales won his Round 1 matchup last year, but stumbled in Round 2, falling to 2015 champion, Sophos' Mike Valentine. Enzweiler has been involed in indirect sales for over 30 years, spending one of those decades at Red Hat.

He'll lean on that experience as he faces his high-profle Round 1 foe, Microsoft's Gavriella Schuster. Schuster, a 21-year Microsoft veteran, took Microsoft channel reigns last summer for Phil Sorgen. Sorgen, Microsoft's representative in last year's tournament, made it the Solutions 16 in the Software region. Schuster will look to keep that momentum and the support of Microsoft's massive partner-basegoing in 2017.