Insights Gained from Council Members to Drive Innovation, New Initiatives for Verizon Partner Program
by Janet Brumfield
WALTHAM, Mass. – From Verizon’s Innovation Center, the company announced today (Sept. 17) that it is expanding the Verizon Partner Program to include a Partner Advisory Council.
According to Verizon Enterprise Solutions Vice President of Channel and Medium Business Janet Schijns, the council was formed to further empower the company to meet the growing demand for cloud, advanced mobility, strategic communications and intelligent networking solutions for medium business.
“The partner channel is critically important to our customers and Verizon,” Schijns stated. “By adding a partner advisory council we are taking our Verizon Partner Program to the next level. Our council will represent the voice of our channel partner program members and ensure we innovate in our channel and with our go-to-market approach.”
The newly appointed Partner Advisory Council consists of the following members, who will serve for a one-year term with key advisors such as the chair and co-chair, serving a two-year term:
-E. Gene Esopi (chair), president Sova
-Kevin Thigpen (co-chair), executive vice president of Sales, ActSoft
-Darryl Senese (executive advisor), vice president of Carrier Services, Atrion
-Mike Shonholz (executive advisor), director of Sales, CDW
-Gina Pigott (advisor), chief executive officer, Teledomani
-Garry Hopkins (advisor), president, National Comnet Services
-Ken Mercer (advisor), vice president of sales, Telecom Brokerage
-Dan Marsh (advisor), managing director, Portfolio Communications
-Adnon Dow (advisor), vice president, Synnex
-Colin Willer (advisor), channel development manager, NetMotion Wireless
-Alan Dabbiere (advisor), chairman of Air Watch
-Mike Armstrong (advisor), vice president of Sales Engineering of Global Communications Group
According to Gene Esopi, Sova president who will serve as Chair to the council, “Verizon has one of the strongest partner programs in the industry. With the new council in place, channel partner program members will now have a strong voice for providing feedback to Verizon so that the program successfully meets the needs and requirements of its members as well as enhances Verizon’s ability to innovate. This further sets Verizon apart from its competition in a very positive way.”
Launched in early March, the Verizon Partner Program offers tailored opportunities for systems integrators, value added resellers, agents, value added distributors, managed service providers, and solutions providers to accelerate delivery and adoption of solutions for meeting medium business requirements.
In addition, members of the Verizon Partner Program can utilize our leading partner relationship management portal powered by Salesforce.com to collaborate with Verizon teams to manage deal registrations, joint go-to-market opportunities and marketing development funds.
Additional information and resources for becoming a Verizon channel partner program member can be found at www.verizon.com/partnerprogram, which also features a video detailing the program.
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