WOTC West Keynote Spotlights How To ‘Be The Signal, Not The Noise’

At Women of The Channel West, Jennifer Anaya, senior vice president of global marketing at Ingram Micro, led a keynote conversation focused on a challenge many solution providers know well: how to stay focused, influential and effective in an industry full of competing priorities.

The session, titled “Be the Signal, Not the Noise,” featured Seana Fippin, founder and CEO of Red Box Business Solutions, and Donna Grothjam, founder and growth strategist of Grothjan Consulting. Together, the leaders discussed how channel executives can cut through distractions, move from discussion to action and build influence without losing authenticity.

Anaya opened the conversation by acknowledging the pressure many women leaders face. “There’s a lot of noise, right? And as women, we're really good at what we do, but that also means we get asked to do a lot of things,” she said.

For Fippin, standing out starts with resilience. “My superpower really is turning adversity into opportunity,” she said, adding that leaders must bring their strengths to the table in a genuine way.

Grothjam said solution providers must be intentional about execution, not just ideas. “Everybody has great ideas, but those ideas lead to the next meeting, the next meeting, the next meeting,” she said. “And what you really need to start thinking about is how are we actually going to get things accomplished?”

The conversation also touched on AI and leadership. Fippin said that even as Red Box Business Solutions expands its work across IT, cybersecurity and AI, the company remains people-first. “It is a people-first company because people are what matter,” she said.

Anaya closed by challenging attendees to become “door openers” for others as they grow their careers and influence across the channel.