The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
In 2023 the IT channel saw many influential job moves across vendors, distributors and resellers.
Following on from our 2023 CEO channel shake-up recap, today we're looking at all the other job moves that might shape the industry in 2024.
Tatham back to Westcoast
After a year-long stint at competitor NSC Global, Alex Tatham has returned to Westcoast as executive director, aiming to reinvigorate the distributor.
Some of the key goals set for the new adventure include expanding products, customers, and vendors, integrating with Westcoast's German arm following a merger, and regaining Westcoast's voice in the market.
He said he saw opportunities in unified communications given HP's acquisition of Poly, the rise of MSPs which Westcoast can better cater to, and strengthening Westcoast's networking portfolio with vendors like Aruba, Juniper, and Cisco.
With his refreshing break over, Tatham is determined to bring new energy and horizons back to Westcoast.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Splunk vet to pilot Aviatrix
Doug Merritt, former CEO of analytics firm Splunk, took over as CEO, president, and chairman of cloud networking provider Aviatrix Systems.
Outgoing CEO Steve Mullaney said Merritt's strength in the $100m to $1bn scale is what best suits the company.
Merritt, in fact, oversaw Splunk expand from $100m to nearly $3bn in annual recurring revenue during his six-year tenure.
With private equity firm Silver Lake investing $1bn in Splunk under Merritt, he looks to bring similar growth to Aviatrix as its new leader.
Merritt praised Aviatrix's customer-first mentality and sees massive potential in pioneering the secure cloud networking category.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Google appoints former AWS datacentre leader
After 13 years leading datacentre strategy at AWS, Chris Vonderhaar was poached this year by rival Google Cloud as VP of demand and supply management.
Vonderhaar abruptly left AWS this spring, where he was responsible for global design, planning, construction and operations of AWS' datacentre fleet powering its cloud infrastructure.
He was seen as a potential successor to former AWS CEO Andy Jassy.
Beyond datacentres, Vonderhaar led AWS' renewable energy portfolio and sustainability efforts.
His hiring by Google Cloud was particularly notable given executives typically sign non-competes limiting moves to rivals.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Rubrik poaches Zscaler EMEA channel sales boss
Zero-trust security provider Rubrik appointed Sean Sullivan as director of alliances for EMEA, a new role focused on expanding partnerships, especially with major telecoms and internet service providers.
Sullivan joined Rubrik from Zscaler, where as EMEA Channel Sales Director he led telecom partnerships.
With over 25 years of cybersecurity sales experience at Microsoft, Dell EMC, Sullivan's role at Rubrik is to leverage his connections and expertise to support partners in reselling or managed servicing Rubrik to mutual customers.
His hiring followed Rubrik's appointment of Richard Cassidy as field CISO and a deepened Microsoft alliance using AI for streamlined incident response and faster recovery.
According to Rubrik's VP of global partners, Sullivan's extensive background and approach made him an ideal leader to drive the company's service provider strategy.
Sullivan also said most businesses now want one provider for connectivity, storage, and security, which presents a major opportunity for Rubrik to offer differentiated solutions.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Cisco channel chief switches to EMEA business
After five years as Cisco's channel chief, Oliver Tuszik took on a new position leading the tech giant's EMEA business, replacing retiring EMEA President Wendy Mars.
Cisco drives about 90 per cent of business through partners, so Tuszik said he'll remain close to that crucial constituency, ensuring smooth transformations focused on security, software, and SaaS.
Tuszik was named SVP of global partner sales in 2018 after five years running Cisco Germany and almost 10 years as a top executive at major Cisco partner, Computacenter.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Former Palo Alto moves to Infinidat
Infinidat appointed former Palo Alto Networks global strategic accounts director Richard Connolly to lead sales in the UK, Ireland, and DACH regions.
Connolly brought experience selling enterprise storage, data solutions, and services to large customers from roles at Hitachi Vantara, Avaya, and managing infrastructure projects at JP Morgan and RBS.
Infinidat's EMEA and APJ SVP Richard Bradbury said Connolly has a proven track record of driving sales growth and relationships with major enterprises across Europe.
With the company's continuous innovation and cyber storage capabilities, Connolly said he believed Infinidat is positioned to drive significant cost savings for enterprises.
His leadership will keep customers at the heart of Infinidat's mindset.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
James Morgan takes Mimecast EMEA reins
In August, Mimecast appointed James Morgan, a 30-year cybersecurity and networking veteran, as SVP for the EMEA region.
Morgan joined from DriveNets where he grew EMEA revenue, channels, and services.
At Mimecast, he will lead regional go-to-market strategy, internal teams, and partners to safeguard organisations' data, people, and communications.
With experience launching markets, building high-performance regions, and expanding established areas, Morgan spent six years at Juniper Networks running EMEA enterprise sales for over 3 years.
His past roles also include leadership and entrepreneurial positions across distribution, VARs, and MSPs.
Morgan said he was excited to collaborate with Mimecast's talented cybersecurity experts at the digital workspace security forefront.
He said there's potential in EMEA and to strengthen partnerships to guide organisations' cybersecurity confidence.
His appointment followed fellow Juniper channel veteran Stan de Boisset's hiring as Mimecast's head of channel.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
HPE vet to lead global channel ecosystem
HPE promoted Simon Ewington from interim to permanent VP of worldwide channel and partner ecosystem to expand opportunities and accelerate edge-to-cloud.
Ewington also retained his concurrent role as VP of worldwide distribution.
As interim leader this year, he accelerated HPE's as-a-service momentum and delivered new Vantage program offerings around Edge, Hybrid Cloud, and AI.
With 27 years at HP/HPE including regional and global channel roles, Ewington will work on building on efforts to guide partners leveraging HPE GreenLake's cloud platform.
His appointment extended the leadership investments after former GreenLake head Keith White's departure and Aruba networking's new channel sales VP.
Incoming programme updates include expanded competencies and enablement for practice-building.
Ewington's extensive experience will help partners capitalise on technology trends via HPE's robust ecosystem.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Richard Eglon take CMO role at Nebula
Form er Agilitas executive Richard Eglon took on the role of CMO at two-year-old sustainable IT services provider, Nebula Global Services.
Founded during the first pandemic lockdown by experienced channel leaders Peter Murphy and Ross Teague, Nebula focuses on outcome-based global services from its UK base.
Eglon joined the leadership team in September to drive strategy, go-to-market, propositions, and brand equity for Nebula's ambitious global vision.
Having always been drawn to emerging, disruptive tech firms with uncapped potential, Eglon expressed being energised by Nebula's aligned values, aspirations, and long-term goals.
His marketing leadership is hoped to power the start-up on its path to "disrupting the IT services landscape".
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Eccleston switches to Exclusive
Exclusive Networks appointed Paul Eccleston, former Nuvias founder and Zscaler channels VP, as SVP EMEA to drive continued regional growth.
Eccleston joined Exclusive in September 2022 to head its UK&I business as interim and now takes on the full-time role.
After strong H1 performance with 19 per cent sales growth and 27 per cent higher regional profitability under his interim EMEA leadership, Eccleston now takes the permanent role and a seat on the executive committee overseeing global strategic expansion.
With a proven track record rapidly scaling channel cybersecurity organisations, including building Nuvias into a multi-hundred-million dollar player in five years, Eccleston will focus on delivering Exclusive's vision via services and sustainable growth.
CEO Jesper Trolle praised his accomplished, entrepreneurial leadership and cybersecurity expertise.
Eccleston said he sees huge resilience and relevance in the cyber sector with rising threats.
By providing service excellence and value to vendors and channel partners, he said Exclusive can capitalise on expansion opportunities.
The big IT channel job moves of 2023
CRN has listed the biggest job changes of 2023 that shifted the IT channel chessboard
Sustainability chief appointed at Westcon-Comstor
Distribution giant Westcon-Comstor appointed its first chief sustainability officer, global operations SVP Kevin Brzezinski, to accelerate environmental commitments.
Alongside his current role, Brzezinski now has end-to-end responsibility for minimising Westcon's carbon footprint by working with vendors and partners across the supply chain.
Originally from the US and now UK-based, he will guide the company's transition to a net-zero future aligned with its validated Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) goal of halving emissions by 2030.
This followed Westcon becoming one of the first tech distributors to have its 2050 net-zero target validated by SBTi and requiring 80 per cent of suppliers to set science-based reduction targets by 2025.
Brzezinski also led the recent publication of Westcon's 2023 emissions report showing decreased Scope 1 and 2 outputs but a double-digit rise in Scope 3.