Exclusive Networks brings Beal on board to run Americas

Exclusive Networks has announced the appointment of Jason Beal as president of the Americas as it looks for further growth in that region.

Beal will be a familiar name to the UK channel, largely as a result of his stint at Barracuda networks where he championed the security vendor’s managed service provider (MSP) efforts.

Beal’s CV includes time as vice-president of Barracuda’s worldwide partner ecosystem, senior vice-president of global channel and partner ecosystems at AvePoint, and various channel facing roles at Palo Alto Networks.

He was also instrumental in founding MSP Day, an annual moment in early June which focuses global attention on the channel community to recognise the contribution of MSPs.

Exclusive Networks will be tapping into that channel and vendor experience, with the distributor looking for Beal to drive growth in the Americas.

In the disties’ last set of FY results covering 2023, which were released February 2024, the Americas contributed 13% of the group’s business. 

Gross sales of €689m were up 30% year on year, with a focus on organic growth, ramping up relationships with existing vendors and bringing some fresh names onboard.

Beal will take on the challenge of increasing that contribution level of 13%, joining the business after Brian Vincik, who has been senior vice president of the Americas, decided to step down for personal reasons.

“I’m thrilled to have Jason joining Exclusive Networks, and I’m confident that, with his leadership, our business in Americas will continue to thrive as we pursue our mission to be the go-to specialist in trusted digital infrastructure,” said Jesper Trolle, CEO of Exclusive Networks.

He also thanked the contribution of Vincik, who he said had been “instrumental in structuring and developing our presence and value for both vendors and channels in North America”.

Beal said that he was joining the distributor at an interesting time, with plenty of scope to make an impression and to continue expanding and transforming the business.

“I have watched this company excel and have partnered with Exclusive Networks globally for many years, working closely with Jesper and the global leadership team. I’m looking forward to joining the team and leading the forefront of this next phase,” he said.

“Brian has built an excellent foundation and achieved many key milestones over the past four years. We now have an opportunity to continue to expand and thrive during what I believe is the golden age of two-tier aggregation.”

Exclusive Networks entered the US market through the acquisition of FineTec back in 2018, and the channel player has been building its presence in the Americs through a combination of acquisition and organic growth. Its last M&A move in the territory was several months ago, picking up security services specialist Cloudrise.

Cloudrise, which serviced customers on both sides of the Atlantic, offered a range of services, including professional services for security access service edge (SASE), data security posture management (DSPM) and cloud native application protection platform (CNAPP) solutions.