Channel roundup: Who's gone where?

Another busy few days across the channel with some more comings and goings to report on. As is usually the case the latest hires and promotions have been made by firms on the hunt for growth.

Gradwell
The firm has appointed Simon Curry as Gradwell Communications’ CEO, and Jamie Ward as its sales and marketing director. Curry has a CV with plenty of experience gained in leadership roles at Powwownow, Arkarius Holdings Ltd, and Plusnet plc. Ward has joined from Gamma, where he was head of SME sales. “With the new management team in place and the strong backing of our Private Equity partners, we are now in a position to grow the business by extending Gradwell’s channel community to include partners who are looking for tried and tested, flexible, robust cloud communications solutions to meet the needs of SME customers,” said Curry.

Sage
A few changes have been made at the software player with Aaron Harris taking the role of CTO. Klaus-Michael Vogelberg, who was the former CTO will remain on the Executive Committee and will be on hand to help Harris, who came into the business from Intacct, which was acquired in 2017. "Since joining Sage in 2017 through the acquisition, I have become increasingly involved in helping shape the technology agenda and I am delighted that I am now joining the Executive Committee and will play an even greater part in creating the future for Sage and our customers," he said.

Rackspace
Kevin Jones has become CEO, replacing Joe Eazor, and will be in the hot seat driving the global strategy and operations. He was most recently the boss at MV Transportation, leading a successful turnaround of the business. The CV also includes spells at DXC Technology, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Dell, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Electronic Data Systems (EDS). "Rackspace has an industry leading growth strategy as it continues to partner with customers on their digital transformation journey, and I look forward to working with the team as we help customers accelerate the value of the cloud. Rackspace is the best partner in the marketplace to help any company decide how to utilize the cloud and get the most out of its cloud applications," said Jones.

Veracode
The application security testing specialist has turned to Pal Kondel to take up the post of vice president of sales for EMEA. The channel will come under his brief and he will be looking to grow the business that goes through partners. Prior to Veracode, Kondel was head of UK and Ireland sales for Netcentric. “Veracode’s State of Software Security Volume 9 report data showed EMEA companies lagged behind the average significantly in the time it took them to close flaws. Overall, businesses in the region are seeking a better understanding of how to secure their software. Pal leads with a customer centric approach and his experience combined with our channel partner organisation will help accelerate our growth in the market," said Mike McGuinness, executive vice president and chief customer officer at Veracode.

SentinelOne
The endpoint protection player has promoted Eran Ashkenazi to SVP of global support and services. He has worked in various roles at the firm since 2014 and will now be charged with responsibility for improving customer support levels. “Consolidating post-sales functions under a single leader is essential to providing our rapidly growing customer base with the highest level of support and service,” said SentinelOne COO, Nicholas Warner. “The position requires an individual who is both customer and business oriented with a highly technical background. Since joining SentinelOne in the company’s early days, Eran has played an integral role in making us the fastest growing endpoint security company in the market, and no one is more qualified or deserving of the position.”