2023 NEXT-GEN SOLUTION PROVIDER LEADERS Stepping Up To The Challenge
By Rick Whiting & Jennifer Follett
Solution provider success rests on hiring people with new ideas, new talents and new life experiences—as well as the drive and the passion—to develop and deliver leading-edge IT solutions. For the fourth year we present CRN ’s Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders, highlighting the rising solution provider executives, directors and managers who are poised to be tomorrow’s leaders. The list recognizes solution provider employees who are 40 years of age or younger who have made significant contributions to their company’s strategic direction and drove growth in the channel during the past year. The list includes people who have followed very different career trajectories, from those who have started their own solution provider business to those who began as interns where they work today and have risen to influential positions. Some have been in the IT industry and the channel since the start of their professional careers, while others have come from different industries, bringing with them their unique experiences, expertise and insight.
The contributions of these next-generation leaders have been all the more important in 2023, a year marked by economic uncertainty and the ever-accelerating pace of technological change—the wave of AI development racing through the industry being the most visible example. With their passion and new approaches to problem- solving, the people on this list are helping solution providers thrive in these turbulent times.
Here’s a look at 64 rising stars in the channel, including a brief overview of what they see as some of their biggest accomplishments and most innovative ideas over the past year.
Kim Abrams Director, Inside Sales Davenport Group
Abhijeet Baneka Director, Client Services, Enterprise Cloud Apps Salesforce Jade Global
Dave Blake Director, Process, Integration, M&A Convergence Networks
Alex Boots Director, Business Development Sequentur
BJ Bradley VP, Engineering Services Davenport Group
A b r a m s supported Davenport Group’s sales organization
Blake joined Convergence Networks in August 2022 through its
Boots helped p o s i t i o n Sequentur as a trusted solu- tion provider in
Bradley has played a pivotal role in expand- ing Davenport Group’s solu-
Baneka leads Jade Global’s Salesforce prac- tice, working with sales, mar-
through a time of rapid growth. To that end, she developed an on-boarding program for hiring and training new team mem- bers, helping them quickly enter their roles and make an immedi- ate impact.
acquisition of SWAT Systems. Post-acquisition he assumed a leadership role in integrating and streamlining critical busi- ness systems and processes and designed an M&A process for future acquisitions.
the Midwest, in under two years generating more than $700,000 in annual recurring revenue and new sales over $3 million in the Columbus, Ohio, market. His efforts have strengthened Sequentur’s Microsoft Gold Partner standing.
tions, including building an end-user computing practice and refining its approach to the security market. He also led the development of Davenport Group’s fast-growing managed services practice.
keting and support teams within customer accounts. Recently pro- moted to global Salesforce practice head, he grew Salesforce opera- tions from 180 to 270 employees in fiscal 2023 and achieved the year’s $11.5 million target.
46
DECEMBER 2023
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs