A Letter From The Editor

Welcome to the fi rst special issue of CRN devoted exclusively to the discussion of diversity, equity and inclusion in the channel. During the past two years, we’ve used this spot in our editorial calendar to showcase up-and-coming women in the channel. This year we’re broadening our scope to include a look at how the channel is celebrating diff erences, ensuring fair opportunities for all and creating a sense of belonging in the workplace.

DEI is a topic that’s come to the forefront for many businesses, especially in the technology sector. Study after study proves that having a diverse workforce across multiple spectrums—such as race, gender identity, age, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status and physical ability, to name a few—leads to increased employee engagement, more innovation and better fi nancial results. Those are all good reasons why so many in the channel are taking their DEI eff orts seriously.

In our cover story on p. 6, Associate Editor C.J. Fairfi eld, Senior Editor Gina Narcisi and Assistant News Editor Mark Haranas take a look at how executives at solution providers, technology vendors and distributors are issuing a call to action and taking steps to help bring more diversity, equity and inclusion to the channel. From training and development programs for executive leaders to funding for Black-owned solution providers, channel executives across the industry are working to make a diff erence.

Our third-annual Rising Female Stars project, starting on p. 10, continues to spotlight some of the channel’s women who are having a big impact on their solution provider partners today and are poised to be tomorrow’s leaders. The honorees in large part were selected based on recommendations from channel chiefs and other channel management executives across the industry, and it’s easy to see why this accomplished group is earning accolades.

With so much discussion going on right now about DEI, it can be hard to fi gure out where to concentrate your energies. On p. 20 we call out the 10 trends channel executives should focus on. Then Cass McMann, leader of The Channel Company’s Inclusive Leadership Network, provides a helpful look at the importance of language in tackling bias on p. 24, while on p. 26 we examine ways channel leaders can serve as allies.

I hope you fi nd something inspirational in this issue to help you build a more inclusive environment at your workplace.

Best regards,

Jennifer Follett Executive Editor jfollett@thechannelcompany.com

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion

Powering An Inclusive Economy, Together

A transformed landscape calls for transformational solutions and a fresh posture. The needs of customers and communities have shifted as people align more aspects of their lives with purpose. These changes present tremendous market opportunity and a chance to rethink a world that works better for more of us.

I’m proud of Microsoft’s focus on inclusive technology and sustainability solutions. We made a five-year commitment to help decrease the gap in education and employment and improve access to technology for people with disabilities around the world. This past year, we launched Windows 11, built with accessibility at its core, and a new ecosystem of adaptive accessories, to enable people to configure, 3D print and customize accessories to suit a user’s unique needs. We announced the general availability of Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability, a step toward a growing set of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) capabilities across the Microsoft cloud portfolio. I’m excited for the opportunities these investments bring and invite our partners to join us to drive innovations that make a difference.

Through the Microsoft #BuildFor2030 Initiative, we are calling all partners to be changemakers and accelerate our collective impact, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Into its third year, we are helping partners build and bring solutions to market, in support of gender equality, accessibility, sustainability, nonprofits and communities.

To support increasing demand for social value procurement and supplier diversity, we’re making it easier for customers to discover diverse and social impact businesses in the marketplace and through co-sell channels, by giving partners the ability to attest and provide certifications.

We remain committed to improving representation in our partner ecosystem. Through the Microsoft Black Partner Growth Initiative and in collective action together with community organizations like the Black Channel Partner Alliance, we’re investing in executive training, enablement resources and mentorship to push the community forward.

Together with The WIT Network and Women in Cloud, we’re providing Azure and AI skilling and professional development opportunities for women in tech. We’re increasing access to working capital and GTM guidance for women entrepreneurs to publish and unlock co-sell opportunities through our marketplace.

Our partner ecosystem, 400,000 organizations strong, reaches customers and communities in more than 225 countries and regions. Together, we can drive change with solutions that make a lasting impact in communities around the world. Join us to power an inclusive economy.

Nicole Dezen,

Chief Partner Officer, Corporate Vice President, Global Partner Solutions

”Our partner ecosystem, 400,000 organizations strong, reaches customers and communities in more than 225 countries and regions. Together, we can be a huge driver for change with solutions that can make a lasting impact in communities all around

the world.”

COVER STORY

DEI: A Call To Action

BY C.J. FAIRFIELD, GINA NARCISI & MARK HARANAS

Network Solutions Provider CEO Phillip Walker arrived at his hotel during a business trip several years ago and was checking in with his team. After a long day of travel, the leader of the Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based MSP just wanted to get to his room as quickly as possible.

But Walker soon realized that the hotel receptionist had made an assumption and a mistake: She had given his suite to one of his white employees.

“She was being really nice to him, which made him uncomfortable,” Walker recalled. “The rooms were booked in my name. I’m the guy.”

Walker, who is Black, stepped away to make a phone call. When he returned to the front desk, the receptionist dismissed him and said she was helping “a very important guest.”

“And my whole group’s hearts stopped,” he said, adding that there was a collective gasp among the team. “They were like, ‘There it is.’ She had no idea what she just did, and she was fi rm about it.”

One of Walker’s sales representatives then corrected the receptionist, pointed to the CEO and said, “He’s Mr. Walker.”

“Face change,” Walker said, describing the receptionist’s reaction. “A super deep gasp and then, ‘Oh, Mr. Walker, I am so sorry.’ But that bias was so far out there—you can’t walk it back.”

Unconscious bias is natural, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be tempered. The human brain is faced with 11 million bits of information at any given time but can only process about 40, so the brain creates shortcuts to help make decisions faster and conserve energy, according to Dr. Rebecca Baumgartner, vice president of human resources for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, who spoke at the Women of the Channel West Leadership Summit, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company, in May on the topic of unconscious bias.

The good news? More companies are taking steps to make sure that biases are acknowledged and checked. Diversity and representation among employees and leadership are increasing among businesses that want to ensure they’re providing an inclusive environment for all. But there’s still plenty of work to be done.

“It’s like [the movie] ‘Pretty Woman,’” Walker said. “She walks in the store, and they treat her diff erently based on her appearance. That’s bias. But everybody feels her pain because she was socially and economically judged. Here she is, she has the money, but because she’s not a part of their elite club they don’t help her.”

Awareness Of The Issue Is The First Step

Many business leaders now recognize that diversifying the workforce needs to be high on the list of priorities when building a fi nancially sound organization. It’s the mark of a business that is in touch with the desires of its current and prospective employees and end customers. And it’s not just about checking boxes for the sake of compliance, according to a 2022 study conducted by The Channel Company on the state of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the channel.

The Channel Company’s 2022 survey included 382 respondents, the majority of whom—about 76 percent— were C-level executives. The survey found that although there’s high interest from solution providers in developing or formalizing a DEI program, those efforts are still primarily led by vendor organizations, which are only beginning to carve out leadership roles for DEI.

On the other hand, the majority of channel organizations in 2021 didn’t have formal DEI programs in place, but many

indicated they were starting to put plans into motion. In 2022, while many of these companies still don’t have established programs, about 70 percent of the channel organizations surveyed said they had efforts in place that went further than meeting compliance requirements.

Beyond compliance, many channel organizations want to prioritize DEI because it helps boost employee retention and attract new talent, especially in light of current trends such as the Great Resignation and the talent gap.

“These equity and inclusion programs do so much for organizations really looking to retain their workforce so that they can have that work-life rhythm that so many of us desire. It just bodes well for us as an ecosystem to continue on that trajectory,” said Cass McMann, MHR, The Channel Company’s DEI community leader.

Stacey Gordon, CEO and chief diversity strategist of Rework Work, a company that specializes in helping businesses develop clear DEI initiatives, said that the first step is awareness. Skipping that step to move on to action will doom companies, which will have to start their DEI strategies all over when they don’t work, she said.

“We really have to get the awareness piece down because we can’t address things that we don’t see happening,” she said. “This step is important because if we keep skipping over the beginning part, we’re going to keep repeating the middle part.”

And that process can lead to “diversity fatigue,” which in turn can be repeated a year, five years or 10 years down the road, she warned.

Representation At The Leadership Level Is Key

Susan O’Sullivan has been with Irvine, Calif.based distributor Ingram Micro since 1990. She started her current role in June as vice president of DEI, a new position for the company.

“DEI has always been in the fabric of Ingram, and we’ve always had these basic principles,” she said. “I think [the distributor] realized that now more than ever we need to make this a serious commitment. We have to take action. We have to show sustainable and ongoing action, and I think we [need] to have someone own it.”

Ingram Micro has always had an “amazing platform” for ensuring hiring managers are seeing diverse candidates, she said. When it comes to reaching a diverse pool of candidates, O’Sullivan said Ingram Micro has been on the journey for quite a while.

Going forward, Ingram Micro will continue to build upon its DEI-first culture by boosting its employee-led resource groups in areas such as pride, modern family, multicultural and women’s resource groups, she said. “One of the things I want to do is to continue to elevate them,” she said. “I want to make sure that our voices are heard from a recruiting standpoint all the way through on-boarding. It’s that inclusion piece and making sure that that message is getting across to our entire organization.”

In support of its growing efforts, Ingram Micro has developed a global DEI curriculum, with its executive leadership team leading the first of many listening sessions, according to Scott Sherman, executive vice president of human resources for the distributor.

“Without question over the last few years DEI has become more important globally and to our colleagues,” Sherman said. “We’ve seen this increased importance and activism as a reason for us to do more as an organization globally. DEI for Ingram Micro means an environment where each of us can bring our true and authentic selves to work each and every day and be appreciated for who we are and what we contribute,” he added. “That is Ingram Micro’s true north for DEI.” As the female CEO of her company, Dawn Sizer aims to lead with empathy. She heads 3rd Element Consulting, a Camp Hill, Pa.-based MSP. “Women leaders tend to do that a little bit more, and we see things a little differently,” she said. “That’s both a strength and a detriment at times. Sharing some of the leadership [roles] with some of the guys, they see things that I don’t, but I think there’s a good balance.”

Sizer also has changed the descriptions in her job postings. Now, in each post, she lays out what the company does “tactically, and what we do for accountability.”

“We know that we have to look in different places,” she said. “We know that our job descriptions need to change a little bit, and we started to make those changes already.”

Sizer sends her female teammates to hiring fairs as well. “We sent women, and we got women,” she said. “When you have the ability to say, ‘There are people like you here,’ it makes a difference.”

She also looks differently at those applying for a job with 3rd Element. “I don’t look at names anymore when I’m looking at a resume,” she said. “I’m looking at what they can do.”

And it’s not just an internal effort—it’s external, too. Sizer said many MSPs collaborate to share ideas on DEI practices and resources. But more importantly, they create an “allyship.” “It’s about how can we best support women, how can we best support brown, Black and LGBTQ+

‘DEI for Ingram Micro means an environment where each of us can bring our true and authentic selves to work each and every day and be appreciated for who we are and what we contribute. That’s Ingram Micro’s true north for DEI.’

SCOTT SHERMAN, EVP, HUMAN RESOURCES, INGRAM MICRO

[people],” she said. “We all speak the same geek at the end of the day.”

Emily Glass, CEO of MSP platform vendor Syncro, said DEI is a main focal point for the Seattle-based company.

“We have a really diverse leadership team, which is important to me,” Glass said. “[DEI] is one thing that you can

lose focus on or it’s easy to put to the side. But I truly believe that if people in the company can look up to leadership and see themselves, that is a hugely powerful symbol.”

Glass, who came on as CEO in October 2021, said she’s focusing on diversity to enhance workplace culture.

“It’s always been a focus at Syncro to have a community of belonging,” she said. “It’s also a motivator to help everyone feel like they belong and feel like they can achieve their goals.”

Syncro requires all its new hires to participate in a racial healing and leadership development course so that everyone has a “baseline of acceptance and a common language.”

“We spend a lot of time establishing those norms together,” she said. “We believe that it’s about the whole person, and we want people to bring their ideas to the table, and they have to feel safe in doing that.”

Glass said the racial healing course covers the history of white supremacy and racism in America, common language to use and how to talk to people about those terms and the history of racism.

“There’s a lot of journaling and self-reflection of where you’re at in that journey,” she said. “Everybody goes through a monthlong training on that. It’s these tangible changes that you can implement that really have the cascading effect on generations. In this course, our employees are in it, but then they talk to their [partners] or their kids or grandparents, and it just propagates from there.”

Investments Are Tangible Efforts

Microsoft in 2020 made a five-year commitment to address racial injustice and inequity, starting with a $150 million investment to double the number of U.S. Black, Hispanic and Latinx managers, senior individual contributors and senior leaders by 2025. In June, the company also launched the Microsoft Black Partner Growth Initiative (BPGI), which will provide resources, programs and tools to help partners capture opportunities throughout its ecosystem and across the globe with a goal of elevating Black-owned technology companies.

The program provides Black-owned businesses that become Microsoft partners with access to information, resources and capital to fuel business growth.

Since June 2020, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said it has increased the number of self-identified Black and African American-owned partners in BPGI by more than 150 percent.

Michael Slater, head of sales for channel marketplace at Sherweb, a Quebec, Canada-based cloud distributor, is an executive sponsor for the program. Sherweb is just one of many of the Microsoft partners helping deliver these programs to Black-owned businesses.

“It’s a new program, so we’re kind of building the infrastructure as we go,” Slater said. “We’re just trying to get it launched and effective to start helping people sooner rather than later. The idea here is that if we wait until everything’s perfect, then you’ll never launch anything.”

Black partners can access a $50 million partner fund developed to provide working capital to all the partners in the ecosystem, he said.

“Our goal is to create a special on-boarding process,” Slater said. “You can opt into the program, and then you’re going to get a special on-boarding based on the program itself. No matter what program you’re utilizing, it’s difficult sometimes to understand. There’s always a translator, and we have done that part historically.”

Partners in the program team up with Sherweb through a Microsoft referral, he said. Sherweb will make sure they’re getting all of the benefits, including presales support, consultation hours, access to funds allocated for the program as well as money back in their pocket.

“We are going to make sure that as a business, you’re set up and you have access to all the resources possible that every other partner has, plus awareness of what this BPGI program offers,” he said. “We want to educate, enable and offer people the tools that they need to be successful. That’s the goal here.” Slater said through this program, a community of Black-owned businesses is being built, which leads to allyship and mentorship. Sherweb received about 55 indirect and 13 direct Microsoft accounts to help through the program in its first 12 days. “This is just one of the first of many programs,” he said. “We’re going to do the same things for other underrepresented groups as well.”

Every Individual’s Career Success Matters

The Channel Company’s research found that one of the biggest roadblocks to DEI for many companies was finding best practices and information to help tailor efforts in a way that is mindful of blind spots that might exist so they can establish a more formalized approach.

For Google Cloud, building products and solutions

‘We are going to make sure that as a business, you’re set up and you have access to all the resources possible that every other partner has, plus awareness of what this BPGI program offers.’

MICHAEL SLATER, HEAD OF SALES FOR CHANNEL MARKETPLACE, SHERWEB, ON MICROSOFT’S BLACK PARTNER GROWTH INITIATIVE

for every kind of user requires a constant commitment to inclusivity. That’s why the company is doing a lot of work behind the scenes to steadily grow a more representative workforce, to launch programs that support Google Cloud’s communities globally, and build products that will serve all—not just some—of its users, said Latonia Knox, global diversity business partner for Google Cloud. Google’s 2022 Diversity Annual Report highlighted the Mountain View, Calif.-based company’s progress and identified opportunities. “While there’s more work to be done, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen—things like the 20 percent increase in Black Googler representation and 8 percent increase in Latinx Googler representation, more than a 30 percent increase in leadership representation of Black, Latinx and Native American Googlers in the U.S.—the data shows we’re on the right track,” Knox said.

Nearly half of the Google Cloud workforce joined during the pandemic. This means most employees have never met each other or their manager in person or have never stepped foot in a Google office. Knox said it’s Google Cloud’s job to create a culture of inclusion and help everyone feel like they belong, regardless of their background.

Formal DEI programs at Google Cloud include its community-driven employee resource groups—Black@ Cloud, Women@Cloud and Hola@Cloud. On the enterprise side, the company is working to advance inclusion with its customers, Knox said.

“We’ve seen strong early results from our program to empower Black entrepreneurs and Black businesses in the financial services industry with cloud technology, helping to build financial inclusion, and we look forward to expanding to new industries,” she said.

Knox is particularly proud of the Autism Career Program that Google Cloud launched last year, the first program at Google designed to grow and strengthen its existing community of people on the autism spectrum by hiring and supporting additional talented individuals, she said. The program has trained more than 350 Google Cloud managers and other people involved in hiring processes to ensure Google’s on-boarding is accessible and equitable for candidates with autism.

For channel partners, Google Cloud has begun rolling out DEI programs, Knox said. Google Cloud’s Partners with a Purpose group has come together to tackle social initiatives and DEI issues. The program is structured into two pillars: a DEI Alliance and social impact projects. “In order for us to grow responsibly as a company—and as an industry—we recognize that we must invest in the career success of everyone—especially future generations,” she said.

At Network Solutions Provider, Walker makes it a point to implement DEI practices and talk about unconscious bias among his team “because it sets the tone that you’re open to making people—regardless of background— successful.”

“It sends the message to not only the people that I’m interviewing but to my employees that there is no bias here,” he said. “Employees need fairness. They need to see it.”

He also very intentionally has representation at the leadership level, which he likens to sending out the company Christmas card.

“I would joke internally and say, ‘What does my company Christmas card say about my company?” he said. “When you see the old-school ones, it’s all the guys in power suits and the two executive assistants in long skirts and heels. And there are no shades of color in there. What you’re telling everybody is that you shouldn’t work there.”

Walker diligently works to make an impact on underserved communities as well as the channel by partnering with different minority groups and peer-topeer incubators as well.

“One of the things as an MSP is you’re not always able to hire the talent that you want,” he said. “So, you have to be good at growing talent. ... You hire the underdogs. You hire the people who have something to prove. You hire somebody who’s hungry.”

Walker also does outreach to underserved communities and educates them about the channel in hopes of attracting them to the IT industry.

“I’m always advocating the channel to minority groups as a way to get them into tech,” he said. “[Many people] have no idea about the different jobs and opportunities that are promoted within the channel. I consider myself an advocate, and I’m pushing this agenda every chance that I get because I never know the impact I can make or the doors that I can open,” he added.

Walker referred to his “Pretty Woman” analogy. When one store accepted the woman’s business, everything changed.

“All of the other stores start opening up, and the whole world becomes your oyster when you’re included,” he said. 

‘While there’s more work to be done, I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen—things like the 20 percent increase in Black Googler representation and 8 percent increase in Latinx Googler representation, more than a 30 percent increase in leadership representation of Black, Latinx and Native American Googlers in the U.S.’

LATONIA KNOX, GLOBAL DIVERSITY BUSINESS PARTNER, GOOGLE CLOUD

MAKING THEIR MARK RISING FEMALE STARS

BY JENNIFER FOLLETT & JANE O’BRIEN

Can-do attitudes, tireless work ethics, problem-solving skills—those are just a few of the characteristics ascribed to this year’s 100 Rising Female Stars. All of the women on our third annual list are leveraging these traits and a host of others to give their respective companies’ partners the tools and resources to grow their business.

In honoring these women we’re doing more than highlighting their achievements and the accolades from their colleagues—we’re hoping to inspire this generation and the ones to come to continue to pursue their career goals and make their own mark in a thriving industry.

Tara Palmieri

Head of Strategic Initiatives, Worldwide Systems Integrators

Amazon Web Services

Palmieri piloted the investment to manage global consulting partners based in North America, an idea that turned heads particularly after one was the rst to win the Amazon Partner Network 2021 Industry Partner of the Year award.

Anita Jagassar

Program Project Manager

Aruba, an HPE company

When Jagassar is assigned to tackle a problem, her teammates know to expect great things. She is recognized as a creative and e ective problem-solver who helps elevate and motivate the people around her and is described as someone whose love for the channel shows in all she does.

Chloe LetourneauVargas

Manager, North America Commercial Marketing

AMD

AMD’s channel team counts itself lucky to have the support of Letourneau-Vargas, who is playing a critical role in building marketing campaigns that are driving overall awareness of the company’s o erings as well as accelerating partner growth.

Nicole Steele

Director, Channel Marketing, Enablement

Aryaka Networks

Steele led the development of new tools to create marketing programs that aim to build pipeline and revenue for Aryaka partners. The programs were designed to provide partners with free access to resources, systems and contacts that other vendors would charge for.

Mayka RosalesPeterson

Sr. Program Manager, Managing Partner Program

AppSmart by AppDirect

Rosales-Peterson won kudos for developing new resources and partner enablement tools. Her vision for continuing to grow AppSmart’s partner program includes strategizing with partners to enhance their brands.

Courtney Duff

Partner Marketing Specialist

Attivo Networks, a SentinelOne Company

Du ’s expertise in demand generation and tireless focus on details help push Attivo’s virtual events from good to great, making a real di erence to its channel partners, colleagues say. She is also lauded for her “get-it-done” attitude.

Victoria Wiesner

Distribution Account Manager

Arctic Wolf

Wiesner has built a reputation inside and outside Arctic Wolf for her strong work ethic, which is evident in the way she consistently beats quotas while maintaining high attention to detail and driving operational excellence.

Theresa Garner

Director, Cloud Partner Growth, Enablement

Avaya

Garner runs the team that on-boards Avaya partners and works step by step with them through their rst cloud opportunities. She helps partners get o to a strong start while providing valuable feedback about the partner experience.

Christy Sumner

Manager, Digital Operations

Arrow Electronics

Colleagues say Sumner’s creativity knows no bounds. Her work stands out for her ability to combine a keen understanding of Arrow’s internal processes with her strong knowledge of digital technologies and trends to help the distributor continually grow.

Gina Haraway

Sr. Director, Customer Experience

Avnet

Haraway leads Avnet’s charge to map the customer journey, with a focus on OEM customers’ experience. She also runs the distributor’s women’s employee resource group and works internally and with partners to drive environmental, social and governance initiatives.

2022 RISING FEMALE STARS

Olivia Guidera

Channel Events Marketing Manager

Axcient

Described as someone everyone in the MSP channel should know, Guidera revamped Axcient’s approach to events in the wake of the pandemic, including developing training for the go-to-market team on best practices for working on events.

Yvonne Massey

Director, Partner Program, Tools

Broadcom

Massey’s can-do attitude came into play as she helped build Broadcom’s partner portal, dashboards and an internal partner sales resource center. She initiated a standard format for its Partner Sales Plays and created numerous campaigns for partners worldwide.

Quismet Fernandez-Sanchez

Partner Sales Director, Central Division

Comcast Business and Masergy

Fernandez-Sanchez has built a strong team of partner sales managers in the Southeast who are dedicated to partner success. Her team has sold multiple strategic logo accounts that have helped to drive revenue.

Joelle Cangelosi

Partner Enablement Team Lead

Barracuda MSP

Cangelosi has cultivated a reputation as an enablement rock star with incredible multitasking skills and followup. Colleagues marvel at how much she can take on, noting that no matter how much work she has she handles it with grace and simply gets it done.

Florence Platt

Manager, Partner Alliance Americas

Check Point Software Technologies

Platt’s work ethic and willingness to always jump in help drive her team, which plays an integral part in Check Point’s partner e orts by assisting with business planning, recruiting and onboarding.

Sophie Mascari

Channel Operations, Enablement Specialist

CommScope

Mascari is viewed as a role model for CommScope employees moving from sales into channel operations. She elds inbound requests for help from partners and has walked many solution providers through the Ruckus Partner Portal and educated them on the channel program.

Maureen Kolb

Sr. Manager, Field Marketing

Bitdefender

Kolb brings her vast experience in marketing management to bear as she helps mold Bitdefender’s eld marketing e orts. Lauded by peers for her skills building bridges from marketing to sales to channel partners, she’s laser-focused on helping solution providers grow.

Anita Kotagiri

Director, Strategy, Planning, Chief of Staff , Global Partner Transformation

Cisco Systems

Kotagiri wins praise as a thoughtful, outcome-oriented team player who has worked on projects that help partners transform with Cisco more e ectively, such as structuring and launching the company’s IoT-OT reseller pilot.

Shauntel Carter

Worldwide Engagement Manager

Commvault

Carter manages Commvault’s marketing development funds allocation and approval process with eld sales for partners in the Americas and Asia-Paci c Japan. She has driven a number of process improvements aimed at increasing the ROI of partner demand generation activities.

Lucy Evans

Global Partner Program Lead

BlackBerry

Continually striving to improve partner bene ts, Evans was key to BlackBerry’s new global partner program, which opened growth opportunities through a single global price book and discounts. Evans also took on extra responsibilities around the 2021 Partner Summit.

Candice Smith

National Partner Account Manager

Citrix Systems

Upon joining Citrix’s channel team, Smith implemented new ideas and processes to ensure each partner feels con dent and comfortable about the solutions they are recommending to customers. She is said to never hesitate to do what is right for partners.

Ophelia Clarke

Manager, Partner Success

ConnectWise

Clarke works tirelessly guiding the ConnectWise team on partner retention. She brings clarity to the company’s broad partner base on what the partner success team can provide to help them reach their most ambitious vision of success.

Ilse Ruiz

Sr. Sales Operations Analyst

BMC

Ruiz has raised the bar on how BMC looks at channel programs, guiding the Ecosystem Operations organization over the past four years to enact new ways of thinking and executing on reporting for programs, partner analysis and business investment ROI.

Corinne Clouthier

Sr. Partner Marketing Manager

Cloudera

Clouthier went the extra mile to help Cloudera partners with a new certi cation process, walking them through how to announce it and share bene ts with their customer base. Colleagues say she has shown consistent professionalism and a positive attitude throughout.

Andrea Acosta-Rivera

Regional Alliances Manager

CrowdStrike

Since joining CrowdStrike in 2020, Acosta-Rivera has won accolades for consistently beating her performance goals and working on countless partnership initiatives that have resulted in increased pro tability for over 50 solution provider and tech alliance partners throughout the U.S.

2022 RISING FEMALE STARS

Shayna Jackson

Director, Channel Sales, Americas

CyCognito

Jackson has quickly made a name for herself at CyCognito since joining the company in October, cultivating a reputation for being collaborative, actionoriented and having a strong understanding of her partners’ business.

Viviane Meirelles

Sr. Sales Engineer

Eaton

Meirelles has over 30 years of experience supporting power solution projects in data center environments. With her strong technical background and project management skills, she has been instrumental in taking Eaton partners from the Florida region to the next level of solution integration.

Catalina Jennings

Global Partner Program Sr. Manager

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

When colleagues think of someone who helps drive global business growth, Jennings readily comes to mind. She has a talent for reinforcing connections and has played a key role in the execution of HPE’s worldwide partner program.

Katie Bird

Director, Channel Marketing

Cynet Security

Cynet’s new global partner program, partner portal and North America partner pro tability programs all launched with Bird’s guidance. She is also driving channel marketing e orts with the aim of helping partners have natural, targeted conversions at scale.

Inna Norvaisiene

Manager, Global Partner Programs

Extreme Networks

When Norvaisiene had to jump in to take on someone else’s role on top of her own responsibilities, she pushed through until she had it all under control. Colleagues were impressed by her attitude and proactive engagement, and she earned a promotion as a result.

Sara Lent

Director, Global Partner, Alliance Marketing

Hitachi Vantara

Lent works tirelessly to help drive Hitachi Vantara’s marketing collaboration with technical alliances and hyperscalers. She is zeroed in on engagement and alignment with partners, particularly around focused go-to-market plans that can be scaled globally.

Tiffany Ward

Sales Director, Professional Services, Google Business Unit

D&H Distributing

Ward helped add managed services and project services to D&H’s professional services portfolio. Her work scaled o erings to help partners meet demand for custom-con gured devices to support customers’ work-from-anywhere initiatives.

AnaLise Shea

Channel Account Manager

Fortinet

Colleagues say Shea has an innate talent for channel management, which is evident in the way over the course of the past two and a half years she has transformed her territory and built meaningful and impactful relationships with partners.

Vanessa Boggs

Southeast Regional Sales Manager

HP Inc.

A well-respected channel advocate, Boggs is a key player in driving HP’s transformation initiatives. Last year she developed an alliance with her HP Services contacts that armed her team to conduct more strategic services-led conversations with partners.

Jindy Carter

Director, North America Sales Development

Datto

Carter works collaboratively across multiple departments to create sales-related programs and collateral that support partners’ sales e orts. She helps deliver value-added resources and programs that will align with partner growth initiatives.

McCall Everest McIntyre

Strategic Technology Partner Lead

Google Cloud

When McIntyre works with traditional partners having di culty with the transition to the cloud, she is able to bring clarity to provide a path aligned to their goals—a feat she has accomplished repeatedly.

Hannah Pirovano

National Channel Account Manager

HYCU

Over the past year, Pirovano quickly proved how e ective she is in networking and relationship-building by working with a number of HYCU’s key North American channel partners. Co-workers say she brings an infectious enthusiasm to every assignment.

Laura Espy Lippitt

Chief of Staff , Global Partner Marketing

Dell Technologies

Espy Lippitt enabled Dell’s partner community with digital marketing and virtual selling tools, and partners saw a big impact from resources such as introductory digital marketing videos and a new digital- rst partner portal experience. Now she’s playing an even bigger role.

Clair Aguirre

Partner Marketing Manager

HashiCorp

Aguirre has adeptly navigated joining a growing company with an expanding roster of partners. She fosters positive relationships and e ectively manages a variety of internal and external stakeholders to support the success of HashiCorp’s partnerships.

Anansha Roy Choudhry

Program Director, Build, Ecosystem Engagement

IBM

Roy Choudhry wins praise for what colleagues describe as phenomenal work building partner engagement. She creates partner success stories, organizes quarterly business partner events and provides consistent communication.

2022 RISING FEMALE STARS

Supna Agrawal

Global Channel Marketing Sr. Manager

iBoss

Agrawal last year launched the enhanced iBoss Partner Program with the aim of driving growth, innovation and partner enablement. As part of that e ort, she spearheaded the execution of joint partner demand programs and coselling initiatives.

Nicole Tryon

Partner Development Manager

Intuit

Colleagues say Tryon embodies the concept of “when one wins, we all win.” She’s known for listening to partners, supporting them every step of the way and asking questions to help them nd their own path to growth. She also steps in when team members need a helping hand.

Jennifer Morrison

Director, Sales, Distribution, VAR Partners

Lenovo

Morrison has built a reputation for assembling highperformance teams, leading them with integrity and empowering them with clear goals. Her 25 years at Lenovo give her the experience and gravitas to be a strong presence in the Canadian channel.

Stacie Odrobina

Global Manager, Event Marketing, Partner Communities

Ingram Micro

Odrobina’s role has been steadily expanding since joining Ingram Micro eight years ago. She now leads a team of event marketing consultants and business development managers to drive growth for top initiatives, events and partner programs.

Ankita Sethi

Sr. Manager, Global Partner Programs

Juniper Networks

Described as sharp and highly skilled, Sethi goes above and beyond to support Juniper’s partner investment initiatives. As a result, her peers say solution providers feel con dent when investing in Juniper and look to the company as a trusted partner.

Julia Mayer

Education Marketing Manager

Logitech

Mayer joined her team in May 2021 and wasted no time establishing herself as a rock star. Described as a go-getter who organizes training and marketing campaigns that lead to strong sales pipelines, she gives partners the tools they need to grow their business.

Anne Matson

Global Partner Sales Director

Intel

Intel partners see Matson as someone who listens, adapts and delivers results. Because of those skills, she has nearly tripled the company’s sales enablement with solution providers globally to help address the demand spurred by the work-from-home model.

Kristin Powers

Marketing Manager, B2B

Kaspersky

Colleagues say Powers does an incredible job supporting Kaspersky’s channel marketing managers with projects, reporting, communications, incentives and more. And, they say, this marketing specialist manages to juggle all of that with enviable e ciency and an admirably positive attitude.

Eva-Maria Elya

Sr. Director, Worldwide Channel Sales

Lookout

Elya’s contributions to Lookout’s channel program have been an integral part of the company’s success. Her e orts are credited with leading to the on-boarding of many strategic resellers, including some of the most successful security solution providers in the Americas.

Keli Davis

VP, Strategic Partnerships

Intelepeer

Davis took charge of a crossfunctional team tasked with building a new product and taking it to market in less than 12 months. She leveraged partner relationships and her own partner acumen to provide feedback, resulting in a product that launched early and found immediate success.

Jackie Dato

Regional Dealer Manager

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A.

Dato is laser-focused on Konica Minolta’s midmarket dealers, and she’s found ways to bring this often underserved community e cient and e ective support. The end result is that those partners can now better grow their business.

Ralon Violette

Sr. Director, Customer Success

Lumen Technologies

Violette is an inspirational leader for Lumen’s partner support team, helping them develop into strong partner and customer success advocates. She and her team are actively removing pain points and making signi cant, positive impacts on the partner experience.

Amy Byrd

Partner Enablement Manager

Intermedia

Byrd wears many hats at Intermedia, from facilitating training sessions for partners to working cross-functionally to build new training content for the sales organization to helping win the hearts and minds of partners by telling the Intermedia story.

Kaitlin Waite

Director, Global Partner Marketing

Lacework

Waite was in her element when faced with the challenge of assembling all the pieces of a new partner program. She has put her stamp on it and is now focused on spurring growth for both the program and Lacework’s partner marketing e orts.

Janice Kennedy

Director, Channel Sales, North America West, Canada, Latin America

Mandiant

Kennedy’s can-do spirit and positive attitude motivate the Mandiant team to go above and beyond for partners. She is said to be always willing to lend a hand and is constantly problemsolving and developing strategic solutions to address challenges.

2022 RISING FEMALE STARS

Elma Nahm

Director, Strategy, Operations, Global Partner Solutions

Microsoft

Nahm is new to Microsoft and has hit the ground running in a key role where she drives strategy, planning and change management for the worldwide team. She leads with a growth mindset and a focus on positive partner outcomes.

Lisa Harshman

Director, Demand Generation

NinjaOne

Harshman has helped lead the charge around NinjaOne’s channel marketing e orts and heads up marketing initiatives for the partner program. She has been with the company for four years and is known by teammates as a demand generation maven.

Olivia Pramas

Director, Channel Marketing

OpenText

Pramas is no stranger to the channel after a decade of experience helping partners with co-branded marketing campaigns and developing new tools and partner portals. She kicked o the year by joining OpenText where she is putting her expertise to good use.

Laura Benning

Program Manager

N-able

Benning has created the program management framework for on-boarding and migrating large MSP installs over to the N-able product suite. This has been a tremendous asset for any new or existing partners as they now have a documented project plan along with a project team from N-able.

Lauren McEwen

Channel Sales Manager

Nutanix

McEwen is part of the team that manages one of the largest resellers in North America and is known for her strong business acumen and deep understanding of her partner. She has a strategic vision and brings innovative ideas that fuel growth in the business.

Meredith Hannah

Sr. Channel Business Manager

Palo Alto Networks

Hannah demonstrates integrity, business acumen and is acknowledged by co-workers as an integral part of the team. She develops channel business plans that drive results and is revered by her peers, extended teams and partners as a seasoned channel professional.

Paula Olsen Perez

Sr. Manager, Americas Partner Program

NetApp

Perez brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and insight to the NetApp team and is helping the company improve programs, incentives, communications and relationships with partners in signi cant ways.

Carrie Almeida

Federal Partner Business Manager

Nvidia

Almeida is known as an amazing leader who understands the unique needs of the entire federal ecosystem. Colleagues say she is one of the most articulate, professional, technical, organized and in uential leaders in Nvidia’s global partner organization.

Marissa Guerrero

Strategic Program Manager

Pax8

Pax8’s international expansion and the Pax8 Marketplace Platform were new types of launches and presented unique hurdles. Guerrero listened to regional partners to understand their needs and worked closely with global vendors to enable their successful launch.

Raquel Wiley

VP, Marketing

NetFortis, A Sangoma Company

A 25-year veteran of the telecom industry, Wiley is known as a results-oriented technology marketer and leads direct and indirect channel marketing programs and initiatives at NetFortis. She also is a rising voice for DEI in the telecom channel.

LaLe Ozbey

Head of Channel

Nyriad

A passionate and driven leader, Ozbey is helping to build a rstclass channel program at Nyriad. Partners are excited when they see the new opportunities and relationships a orded by working with her, as evidenced by the creation of opportunities before the company’s storage o ering was launched.

Lisa Hansoty

Sales Director, North America Partner Sales, Financial Services, Insurance

Pegasystems

Hansoty brings partner expertise and drive to Pegasystems’ nancial services ecosystem. Her pursuit of understanding partner strategy and objectives has fostered better outcomes.

Chelsea Wood

National Partner Marketing Manager

Nextiva

Colleagues can already see Wood is going to be a channel marketing force to be reckoned with. She has quickly earned the respect of the partners she has worked with and is said to embody Nextiva’s core values of “simplicity, forward thinking and caring.”

Ouafae Hannaoui

Director, Global Field, Alliances Marketing

Open Systems

Hannaoui is a seasoned channel marketing leader with over 10 years of experience that includes outstanding leadership, channel practices and development, strategy execution, marketing and sales. She is focused on making sure the partner’s voice is heard.

Erica Mikulsky

Global Partner Content Strategy Manager

Poly

Mikulsky is known as the voice of the partner at Poly. She has developed a comprehensive partner co-branding guide, improved the global partner communications strategy and provided guidance on the development of all partner content.

The Women of the Channel Leadership Summits empower and cultivate the next generation of women leaders.

Develop your skills, connect with peers, and advance your personal, professional, and corporate goals at Women of the Channel East

2022, December 5-6 at the New York Hilton Midtown.

This year’s keynote speakers include:

Deshauna Barber

Nonprofit CEO, former Army officer, and former Miss USA

Corinne Hancock

Leadership coach, entrepreneur, and humanitarian

Catherine Price Award-winning science journalist, speaker, and author

Our last two Summits have sold out, so register early to save $100 and guarantee your spot!

Early-bird passes are available through October 3. www.womenofthechannel.com

2022 RISING FEMALE STARS

Jessica Scarinci

Sr. Channel Manager

Proofpoint

Scarinci has strong relationships with her partners in the New York City metro territory, and those relationships have helped her build one of the most successful sales territories in the U.S. for Proofpoint. She is always relentlessly pursuing ways she can better align with partners and sales teams.

Marina Mariotta

Partner Business Offi cer, Offi ce of the CPO

SAP

Mariotta joined the team from SAP’s Brazilian marketing organization. In two years, she has driven SAP’s agship partner demand generation program, Race2Revenue, to success in three continents, where it delivers signi cant partner pipeline.

Kimberley Winfield

Channel Development Manager

Skyhigh Security

Win eld has spent her career so far immersed in cybersecurity. She turned her attention to the channel eight years ago and hasn’t looked back. A pro at helping partners with cloudnative security solution-selling, she jumped to Skyhigh’s channel team in March.

Lauren Rodabaugh

Director, Global Partner Marketing

Pure Storage

Rodabaugh leads a team focused on driving business with partners in all routes to market. She is laser-focused on working with key national and strategic partners on campaigns, events and enablement to drive pipeline and increase revenue.

Caitlin Tindle

Partner Marketing Manager, Distribution, Alliance

Scale Computing

Tindle is a true master of her craft, building innovative eld experiences, creative marketing campaigns and partner experiences. She continually works with partners on their strategic marketing plans.

Michelle Silver

Global Sales Director

Snowfl ake

Silver’s inclusive leadership style drives results and brings out the best in her team, her peers and leadership. Her strengths include seeing the big picture, setting audacious goals and developing deep relationships across the ecosystem.

Shannon McCartyCaplan

Commercial GTM Integration Director

Red Hat

McCarty-Caplan has driven alignment across the company to spotlight the importance of partner-ready material. This e ort will drive more alignment externally and bring clarity to the priority areas to jointly win with partner-led solutions.

Eileen Bishop

Director, Secure Power North America Channel Marketing, Strategic Execution

Schneider Electric

Bishop has advanced Schneider Electric’s channel business by continuing to develop and improve the e-commerce strategy within her accounts. This has been and continues to be a top strategic focus area.

Danielle Dacey

Sr. Sales Manager, Sales Support, iNSP

SonicWall

Colleagues are impressed with how Dacey is continually looking for ways to improve processes and programs to drive the overall success of SonicWall and the partner community.

Charlie Coulange

Regional Sales Director

Riverbed | Aternity

Coulange has gone above and beyond to develop the business and brand in the Latin America and Southeast U.S. regions. Not only does she do a great job managing a team from afar, her work to stand up and support partners, distributors and sales teams in the Latin America region have had a huge impact.

Jennifer Palmes

Director, Channel Enablement

Sectigo

Palmes’ vision and ability to execute on that vision has led to success for Sectigo’s channel strategy. She has a deep background in channels and leaves no detail unturned, and teammates say that whatever gets thrown her way will be expertly executed.

Emillie Kushner

Sr. Director, Sales, Partner Operations

Sophos

Kushner is part of a massive internal project to redesign and overhaul Sophos’ back-end systems. The goal of this project is to make it easier for partners to do business with Sophos, whether it’s through transactions, quotes or deal registrations.

Stacy Hicks

Strategic Partners Sales Manager

Samsung Electronics America

Hicks has a strategic approach to developing new Samsung opportunities with her channel partners that leads to whitespace growth for both parties. She has increased the education business with several of her partners, taking a total solutions approach.

Sandeep Kaur

Account Manager

Sherweb

Kaur advocates for her partners, works tirelessly as an extension of their team and is driven to do what it takes to make their businesses succeed. She is also very involved with the channel and loves nothing more than meeting MSPs so she can learn from them and hopefully help them in some way.

Terri Radulski

Sr. National Partner Development Manager

Spectrum

Radulski supports some of Spectrum’s largest technology service distributors and often receives accolades from them. She’s always nding new and innovative ways to grow their business and believes that staying abreast of the latest technology is key to her success.

2022 RISING FEMALE STARS

Shali Sobers

Global Head of Customer Success, Partner Strategy, Programs

Splunk

New to Splunk, Sobers has been supporting partners across a number of di erent organizations during her career. She is now bringing her leadership, functional expertise and customer service experience to the company.

Sylvie Arendt

Federal Channel Manager

Trellix

Arendt was key to keeping the relationship going with Carahsoft for the public sector before a colleague was brought into the role. Separate from her channel responsibilities, she stepped in to make sure the Carahsoft team had the training they needed and was the person everyone leaned on.

Lora Hawk-Tillman

Director, Americas Multicloud, Modern Apps Channel

VMware

Hawk-Tillman has elevated her team’s ability to have more strategic conversations regarding multi-cloud with partners and boosted VMware’s game as it pertains to driving pro table growth for MSP and cloud services partners.

Ashley Swain

Director, Partner Solutions

Tableau

Swain has helped create the Partner Solutions Program, which is helping Tableau’s resellers craft their expertise and o erings in a repeatable way against key customer verticals and use cases. This foundation will be a global focus across the partner organization.

Kim Mittleman

Director, Federal Channels

Trend Micro

Mittleman knows everything about the federal space — from agencies to contracts to procurement vehicles. She literally speaks the language of the federal sector and is very valuable to Trend Micro’s business.

Madison McDaniel

Manager, Global Partner Programs, Operations

Wasabi

With her can-do attitude, McDaniel has grown from an events role into a well-rounded channel executive who truly understands the ecosystem from distribution to MSPs and VARs to alliances. She works to help automate processes and build creative programs for partners.

Mary Katherine Fisher

Supervisor, Partner Enablement Manager

TD Synnex

Fisher is a true thought leader who spearheaded social selling in concept and in education for team members. She has created numerous innovative demand generation campaigns and is the mastermind behind the partner enablement portal.

Rosemary Casey

Sr. Alliance Manager

Veeam Software

Casey is always focused on a customer-/partner- rst experience and works diligently to grow and expand Veeam’s channel. In her role leading the North America HPE partnership at Veeam, she works closely with partners to identify opportunities for joint selling.

Diana Harter

Audience Marketing Manager, Managed Service Providers

WatchGuard Technologies

Harter’s work behind the scenes lets WatchGuard better serve its diverse partner community and ultimately provide partners with customized, relevant experiences with the company.

Hanna Kalmer

Director, Global Partner Programs, North America Partner Marketing

Tenable

Kalmer is known as a partner advocate, strategic thinker and e ective communicator. Her partner relationships and leadership are driving cross-functional initiatives and alignment to improve global engagement.

Jennifer Golding

Sr. Manager, Channel Marketing

Verizon Business

Golding leads the channel marketing team, accountable for marketing strategy supporting an ecosystem of 5,000-plus partners. She has made the team highly e ective in elevating the channel presence across Verizon and within the industry.

Cherie LaBuzetta

RVP, IT Sales

Xerox

LaBuzetta’s collaborative approach to sales enablement helped many partners stand up their apps and solution business. Most recently, she has been instrumental in growing Xerox’s IT services portfolio in a short period of time. She is passionate about supporting colleagues and partners alike.

Sanam Sheth

Channel Partner Account Executive

ThreatLocker

Sheth is dedicated to simplifying the channel sales experience for ThreatLocker’s solution providers. She is laser-focused on expediting the sales cycle and creating a frictionless process to make it easier for partners to work with the company.

Katie Royse

Partner Marketing Manager

Vertiv

Since joining Vertiv in 2020, Royse has quickly earned the respect of her Vertiv and channel partner peers, leveraging her wealth of channel knowledge and using her meticulous focus to deliver high-quality output for her accounts.

Jane-Elizabeth Bunn

Regional Alliance Manager

Zscaler

In a very short time, Bunn has embraced everything around Zscaler’s pipeline generation initiatives and has piloted new programs. These have led to success for partners, joint customers and the company itself.

CONFRONTING BIAS How To Focus On ‘Culture-Add,’ Not ‘Culture-Fit’

BY GINA NARCISI

Narine Galstian

CMO, SADA Systems Many companies have diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in place. But simply aiming to hire a more diverse staff won’t change existing cultural dynamics within the organization or interrupt biases that may exist, said Dr. Rebecca Baumgartner, vice president of human resources for the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “That’s just maintaining the status quo and forcing new individuals to assimilate and fit into the already existing boxes,” said Baumgartner at the Women of the Channel West Leadership Summit, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company in May.

Baumgartner, a woman of color, remembers a time during her career when she had to work hard to prove she fi t in with her all-male team. She “covered,” or downplayed, parts of her identity in an attempt to overcome any biases that her colleagues may have had about her abilities to do her job.

“I stopped wearing heels and bright colors and stopped wearing as much makeup. I behaved more like they did— more dominant. I even slowed down my cadence and lowered the pitch of my voice so men would feel more comfortable around me and listen to me. I was ‘covering’ to fi t in. Even though I had great ideas, I couldn’t express them. I had no physiological safety, and that’s really important,” she said.

Organizations should focus on “culture-add,” not “culture- fi t,” Baumgartner said. In other words, employees shouldn’t feel like they have to “cover.”

Many companies feel a responsibility to identify and confront biases that may exist in their business.

SADA Systems, a solution provider that was founded by Armenian immigrants, continually looks for new ways to foster an inclusive, diverse and supportive environment for its employees, said Narine Galstian, CMO of SADA Systems.

SADA Systems regularly attends and partners with DEIfocused career fairs as part of its recruitment process. The Los Angeles-based company also uses machine learning technology to screen job descriptions for bias.

From there, DEI initiatives need to be put into practice, Galstian said. The next step is the company’s SADA University program, an intensive and immersive eight-week training and mentorship program.

“We specifi cally seek out talented engineers early in their careers that represent groups that historically haven’t been well represented in tech,” she said.

The last piece, said Galstian, is culture. “We weave DEI into every facet of our culture. We ensure that everyone has a voice and, just as importantly, that everyone knows how to listen inclusively,” she said.

During its weekly Town Halls, SADA regularly recognizes various monthlong observances. The solution provider’s Town Halls often include coverage and discussion of topics such as Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month and the Armenian genocide.

“It’s easy to check a box, write a blog, and list DEI in job posts, but DEI is an integral company practice and not an assignment. The bottom line is that DEI is the right way to build an incredible company,” Galstian said.

Addressing Harder-To-Recognize Biases

“If anyone thinks that they don’t have biases, they’re just not educated enough,” said Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration at San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems. There is still “profound” bias in the workplace as it relates to race and gender, but companies also need to pay attention to biases that may be harder to recognize. These include location and language bias and even biases against diff erent socioeconomic levels, Patel said. A major, less recognized bias that many people and companies have is around geography, Patel said. “You don’t usually ask someone if you’re on the phone, ‘What race are you?’ But people will ask all the time, ‘Where are you based?’ and, based on that, should I hire you or not? And that seems like a very biased way of looking at it.” Patel said that all companies have work to do on eradicating the well-known and lesser-known biases over time, systemically. “No one should feel like they don’t have an equal seat at the table,” he said. “We should remind people that part of every person’s job in this hybrid world is to make sure that people feel included and to create a participatory culture where they are given a space to talk.” 

Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion

TD SYNNEX Makes Social Responsibility A Focus

Through leadership on reducing our carbon footprint and waste and embracing a diverse and inclusive work environment, TD SYNNEX is building the way for a more sustainable future.

We believe anyone can do great things with technology—and “anyone” is the operative word. Our commitment to social responsibility starts with our co-workers. We are proud to be recognized as a great place to work, a leader in promoting and practicing diversity, equity and inclusion, and an active member of the local communities where we live and work.

To build on this track record, TD SYNNEX is committed to increasing representation of people who identify as women to comprise 50 percent of our workforce and 40 percent of leadership roles by 2030 in addition to increasing representation of underrepresented groups by 2025. And with an emphasis on equity, we plan to expand compensation and benefits parity programs through 2030 across the globe, in addition to evaluating promotion practices for fairness for all co-workers. The focus on diversity continues to expand with a commitment to increasing the diversity of TD SYNNEX’s business partner ecosystem.

An important component of DEI at TD SYNNEX is our six business resource groups (BRGs). These affinity-focused networks provide opportunities for co-workers to have meaningful and inclusive conversations, celebrate cultural differences, give back to our surrounding communities and develop skills to achieve personal and professional goals. The company plans to double co-worker participation in these BRGs by 2025.

Making an impact on local communities has been a point of pride for TD SYNNEX throughout its history and the history of its legacy companies. TD SYNNEX is continuing its commitment to community support with a focus on the digital divide, children and wellness. As part of this, the company is helping to bridge the digital divide by providing devices, digital skills training, internet connectivity and technical support to underserved communities. Specifically, through partnership with nonprofits like Human I-T, TD SYNNEX will digitally equip 20,000 households touching the lives of 60,000 people.