When we at Channel Insider decided to create the Bull’s Eye Awards,
we wanted to do something more than just recognize the usual suspects.
No disrespect intended, but vendors and channel executives have awards
and accolades heaped upon them all the time. Of course, we would
recognize them and their efforts, but we wanted to go a step farther,
which is why we conferred awards to channel account managers’ whose
efforts and dedication to partners often go unnoticed.
The Channel Account Manager of the Year Awards is
one of my favorite categories. While channel executives such as this
year’s winners – IBM’s Rich Hume and EMC’s Gregg Ambulos– stand in the
spotlight on a daily basis, CAM’s are the professionals in the field
who are carrying out the policies set by their corporate masters and
supporting the partners that make and implement the technology deals.
>> CHECK OUT this year’s Channel Executives of the Year Award winners
We recognized the efforts of three CAMs who were nominated by
partners for their dedication and support of their partners. They are:
CHAMPION: Melinda Long, NetApp
CONTENDER: Alice Hongthong, Symantec
CHALLENGER: Frank Gurnee and Brian Freistat, ARRC Technologies
Each of these winners is well deserving of recognition, but all of
the channel account managers nominated have the gratitude and
admiration of the solution provider partners that they service and
support. Here’s some of the excepts from the other nominees.
Andrea Stegert, PGP Corp.
Andrea embodies the true spirit of this award given her dedication,
commitment and service to not only PGP Corporation’s channel program,
but to her relationships in the channel community. She is tenacious in
uncovering new sales opportunities and building strong relationships
with key contacts in the channel that will prove beneficial for years
to come.
Tim Lyons, SonicWall
Tim is a man who has worked very hard to build himself a reputation
of being honest, ethical and he actually cares about his partners. He
doesn't look at his partners as a number or count us as a deal for a
quarter. Instead, he builds the relationships necessary to ensure
long-term success of his partners. He wins by making us win; a true
manager and guide. He is amazing and deserves this more than any in
years.
Ron Schooler, AMD
Ron has outstanding success in OEM and channel accounts within his
territory and excels in delivering the entire AMD product portfolio to
a wide range of accounts…Ron uses all the tools in his AMD product
portfolio to act as a consultant to create complete solutions to assist
channel partners in expanding their reach with AMD in their target
markets. Ron has a wonderful work ethic and dives right into each
challenge that comes his way with vigor and confidence. His customers
respect and value his consultancy and partnership.
Bruno Pakey, McAfee
Bruno aligns closely with his field team and fully leverages the
McAfee Security Alliance profitability and enablement programs, such as
McAfee Deal Registration, Teaming Plans and McAfee Rewards, to help
drive and reward value from go-to-market partners. These programs
encourage partners to engage early in the sales cycle with McAfee field
sales representative, resulting in higher value delivered to the
customer and higher close ratio.
Syya Yasotornrat, Hewlett-Packard
Syya is one of the most dedicated and energetic vendor reps that
we’ve ever worked with. She is constantly communicating with us,
helping us identify new opportunities, working with us in developing
and closing sales, and providing support for navigating the HP partner
program and getting the support we need to be successful. She is truly
a benefit to our business.
These are just a sampling of the nominees we considered. There are
literally hundreds – if not thousands – of other channel account
managers and field managers that toil tirelessly on behalf of their
partners each and every day. All of these channel professionals deserve
recognition for their ongoing efforts to make solution providers
profitable and successful. They are our industry’s unsung heroes.
>> CLICK HERE to check out all the winners of the 2009 Channel Insider Bull's Eye Awards
Lawrence M. Walsh is vice president and group publisher of Channel Insider. Click here to read his blog, Secure Channel, for the latest insights on security technology and policy trends affecting solution providers.
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