‘Citrix’s decision was a shock’: Climb CEO shares updated ambitions following strategic shift

Dale Foster reflects on Citrix separation, Westcoast-ALSO merger, and leadership transformations

Despite several challenges faced by the company in recent months, US-based distie Climb Global Solutions remains optimistic about the future.

To overcome external pressures, such as the end of its partnership with Citrix and increased competition from the Westcoast-ALSO merger, the company has had to reinvent itself, by assigning a revamped leadership team, and rethink its approach towards its partner base.

In an interview with CRN, CEO Dale Foster discusses how the organisation innovates in the face of adversity, as well the importance of its global network of partnering MSPs and the need for a local presence across all territories.

Rebuilding post-Citrix shock

While the company is now confident enough to enough, Climb had to rebuild its vendor relationships after the tohubohu caused by the loss of the Citrix business in 2024.

“Citrix was a shock.

“They let a lot of Citrix people go, and then killed most of their channel relationships.

“I don't think they were growing, and they said ‘Okay, we're still making a lot of money. Let's consolidate and save our cash.’”

The firm is now partnering with five vendors, its two headliners being Microsoft and Parallels.

“We have the indirect and CSP relationship with Microsoft, which is very tight,” he explains.

“We’re selling Bing Maps almost exclusively worldwide.

“And you’re thinking, ‘Okay, Bing Maps is still around?’

“It’s moving to what they call Azure Maps; big, big business for us, and high margins for our resellers.”

Parallels, as the CEO explains, “goes where Citrix goes.”

Westcoast-ALSO and competition

Beyond the end of its partnership with Citrix, the business also has increased competition in Europe, following the merger of Westcoast and ALSO.

But the CEO is not too worried by the fusion, as it sees ALSO more as a platform business involved in hardware.

The distie competes with organisations such as Exclusive Networks and Infinigate, especially in cybersecurity.

The only region where Westcoast reportedly has an impact on Climb’s operations is Ireland, because of the British company’s long-lasting presence in the country.

On the other, Foster explains Climb feels “pretty bullish on the HPE–Juniper deal that was just signed off on.”

“We already sell HPE Aruba Networking in Ireland, and we think we’re going to have access to the Juniper products.”

Seven guys, a dog, and other partners

When it comes to partners, the distie currently works with 5,000 customers, 2,000 of which are MSPs.

European MSPs make up about 20 per cent of the organisation’s partner base, even though the region represents about 15 per cent of its total revenue.

“About 90 per cent of MSPs are ‘seven guys and a dog; they are small operations, but they know their local markets and customers really well,” Foster tells CRN.

According to Foster, because of their size and local footprint, these companies seek speed and self-service.

“We have to be able to transact the way they want to transact.

“For most of them, that means fast, simple, and online.”

C-suite changes

To support these transitions, the CEO has also made changes to its leadership team.

In June, it terminated the appointment of its CIO Vito Legrottaglie, who had been working at Climb for over two decades, and hired Vishal Pushpa.

The exec team has also evolved as the distie expanded through acquisitions.

Gerard Brophy, former MD of Spinnakar, which was acquired by Climb in 2022, is now the organisation’s CRO, while Matthew Whitton, who came in through the purchase of Grey Matter in 2020, became COO.

On the ground in Germany, Martin Bichler, the regional country manager of DACH and Eastern Europe, has reportedly grown the business there from zero to $5m in sales in just six or seven months.

“You have to be present, you have to be on the ground, you have to be in-country,” explains Foster.

“Germans buy from Germans, the French buy from the French.

“We could come over and say, ‘Hey, we are the smartest guys in the room. We know what's going on.’

“In reality, right until you actually get there, spend time with the teams, you have no clue how to adapt to the country you’re involved in.”