Roman emperor of Fortinet EMEA channel

Security vendor gives channel reins to former Iberia country manager Emilio Roman

Roman: I am looking forward to implementing new actions that will help strengthen our partner programme

Security vendor Fortinet has unveiled Emilio Roman as its new EMEA channel head.

Roman has been with the company for five years, serving as country manager for the Iberia region. During a 15-year IT career he has also held an array of sales and management roles at firms including Attachmate and Samsung.

California-based Fortinet has now handed him the role of EMEA director of channel, marketing and renewals. The vendor's vice president of EMEA and Southeast Asia Patrice Perche welcomed Roman's appointment.

“Emilio has the skills, energy and dedication required to grow the success of our channel in EMEA,” he said. “His new role will be key in tightly integrating channel, renewals and marketing strategies for greater efficiency to keep gaining market share in the region.”

During his stint in Iberia, Roman oversaw the expansion of Fortinet's channel, which is now 150 partners strong. The vendor also claims he was instrumental in establishing the company as a market leader in Spain and Portugal.

Fortinet pointed to IDC's Q1 2009 Worldwide Security Appliance Tracker, which pegged the company as the region's biggest UTM manufacturer by factory revenue. The vendor also placed second in the network security appliance space.

Roman said: “I am very excited about the new challenge Fortinet has given me, and I am looking forward to implementing new actions that will help strengthen our partner programme and brand awareness, equip our channel with the right marketing tools and improve our service contract renewals processes.”