Dunne deal: Plantronics channel chief gets UK top job

Paul Dunne takes on responsibility for the whole UK and Ireland business

Plantronics' long-serving channel boss for the UK and Ireland (UKI) has been promoted to the top job in the region.

As of this week, Paul Dunne (pictured) has become country manager for UKI, but will maintain his channel duties. He joined Plantronics in 2003 when he headed up the Irish business, before taking charge of the channel across the UKI business in 2007.

He told CRN that his new role will involve overseeing the channel business, marketing and PR in the region, as well as boosting adoption of Plantronics' headsets across business.

Dunne claims that at the moment, only 10 per cent of businesses users who could use headsets actually do, meaning the opportunity for his firm is ripe.

"If we can move the needle from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, it will have a huge impact on our partners' revenue," he told CRN.

He added that his taking on the top job after gaining extensive experience in the channel is good news for partners.

"One of the major strengths I bring to the role is eight years of channel background," he said. "I really understand how the business works and I understand how to support our channel. The other thing is [that we have been] really consistent around this message - we have always said we're channel-centric. We don't go around taking business from our channel and it means we get a lot of trust from our partners."

A number of vendors across the board are increasingly talking up their credentials in the remote-working space, but Dunne said Plantronics' experience in the market sets it apart from its rivals.

"We see ourselves very much in a leadership position in the UK," he said. "We're hearing time and time again that it is our post-sales support that makes a massive difference to [customers]. We have many years of experience to know what it takes to work properly in this way... we have been doing this for years."