Sabio ends year with double C-suite appointments

Mark Starkey joins as chief commercial officer and Katherine Watkins as chief people officer

Sabio has named Mark Starkey as chief commercial officer and Katherine Watkins as chief people officer as it aims to tackle the changes brought by AI and digital transformation.

Starkey joins with nearly three decades of experience working across distributors, resellers and vendor.

He entered the channel in 1998 as financial controller at Westcon-Comstor before holding senior commercial leadership positions at organisations such as Logicalis, EMC (now Dell), and ADI Global Distribution.

His previous C-suite functions include COO at Logicalis and CEO at Sahara AV Solutions.

In his new role, he will lead Sabio’s global commercial operation with the help of regional MDs.

He will also focus on strengthening commercial performance and delivering value for clients.

“I’m thrilled to join Sabio,” said Starkey.

“We have the talent, experience and track record to help enterprises modernise customer engagement with AI; confidently, at speed and at scale.”

Watkins’ appointment as chief people officer marks her first post in the IT channel.

Prior to this, she held various HR exec titles at firms including Gallagher, PwC, Sutherland Global Services, Cushman & Wakefield and UKGI.

She took on her first C-suite role at creative agency Selbey Anderson in 2022.

At Sabio, she will lead the customer experience (CX) solutions provider’s global people strategy, aiming to boost talent development and build a more cohesive organisational culture.

“I am joining Sabio at such an exciting stage in its journey,” said Watkins.

“People are at the heart of every successful organisation, and I look forward to working with the team to create an environment where our colleagues can thrive and deliver outstanding experiences for our clients.”

Andy Roberts, CEO of Sabio, added: “Strengthening our operating board with [Starkey] and [Watkins] is a major step forward for Sabio.

“[Starkey]’s commercial expertise and [Watkins]’s people-first approach will be instrumental as we continue to scale globally and deliver on our vision of transforming customer experience through innovation and AI-driven solutions.”

Sabio ranks number 27 in CRN’s Top VARs list.