As the first quarter of 2025 comes to a close, organizations in the channel have made various shifts to advance their enterprises into the next three quarters of the year.
Big names like Intel, Google, and HPE all made changes to their executive benches, while other organizations made sweeping changes to their leadership teams.
Let’s take a look at all the significant moves that shook up the channel in March.
Lip-Bu Tan named new Intel CEO
After stepping down from the Intel board of directors in August 2024, Lip-Bu Tan has been appointed as the new CEO of Intel and has also rejoined the board.
Tan takes over for co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who will each remain in the leadership roles of executive vice president and chief financial officer and CEO of Intel Products, respectively.
“I’m humbled and honored to be your next CEO,” Tan said in an email to employees. “Under my leadership, Intel will be an engineering-focused company. We will push ourselves to develop the best products, listen intently to our customers, and hold ourselves accountable to the commitments we make so that we build trust.”
Frank Yeary, who took on the role of interim executive chair during the CEO search, will revert to being the independent chair.
Venables to step down as Google Cloud CISO
Phil Venables, Google Cloud’s first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), announced in a LinkedIn post that he will be stepping down from his position and transitioning to a part-time role as a Strategic Security Advisor to support the executive team at Google Cloud.
“My team and colleagues at Google Cloud and Google Technical Infrastructure and the wider Google security teams have been and continue to be amazing,” Venables wrote. “I’m so proud of what we have achieved and the team we built. But after being a CISO for 30 years spanning four CISO roles at some of the world’s largest organizations it’s time to do something a bit different.”
Venables previous roles before joining Google Cloud include CISO at Goldman Sachs, as well as serving on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) from September 2021 to January 2025.
Additionally, in Venable’s LinkedIn post, he hinted at an upcoming career move that he will announce soon.
ConnectWise leadership moves
ConnectWise recently announced a few key executive leadership changes to boost its partner-first strategy and operational execution.
These changes include:
- Mari-Frances Bentvelzen as Chief Customer Officer (CCO): Most recently serving as CCO at WEX, Bentvelzen led a global team of over 3,000 and worked to drive transformational customer engagement and revenue growth, as well as serving in senior leadership roles at SAP Concur.
- Dan Madden as Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Beginning on April 7, Madden will join as CFO, bringing over two and a half decades of financial leadership experience in public and private-equity-backed companies. Madden will lead ConnectWise’s financial strategy and operations to support sustainable growth and innovation.
- Alan Komet as Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer (CSTO): In this newly created role, Komet will report directly to ConnectWise CEO Manny Rivelo, and lead a new Transformation Office that aims to accelerate strategic initiatives such as platform migrations, payments adoption, pricing and packaging, corporate development, and long-range planning.
“Mari-Frances and Dan bring world-class expertise to our leadership team, and Alan’s move into transformation ensures we’re aligning resources to drive execution at scale,” said Rivelo. “These appointments reflect our continued investment in improving partner experience, speeding innovation, and delivering on our mission to help MSPs run, grow, and transform their businesses.”
In early March, ConnectWise announced the formation of a new business unit to enhance its partner community, which will be led by Peter Kujawa as EVP of Service Leadership and IT Nation. Kujawa will report directly to Rivelo.
The new Partner Communities structure will unify existing ConnectWise programs, including IT Nation, Service Leadership Inc., and Partner Advisory Councils (PACs) under a shared vision. This consolidation will merge ConnectWise’s MSP community resources into a cohesive ecosystem where partners can connect, collaborate, and contribute to the evolution of the ConnectWise platform and strategy.
“The IT Nation events, IT Nation Evolve peer group community and Service Leadership are already incredibly impactful for the industry, Manny wants to see us grow them so that we can help even more partners be successful,” said Kujawa. “I’m excited to embark on this new chapter and collaborate with the community to take these to the next level. We remain dedicated to creating a ‘community of communities’ that empowers MSPs and solution providers to thrive by providing valuable resources, fostering collaboration, and ensuring their voices are also heard within ConnectWise.”
Coro hires Joe Sykora from Proofpoint
Coro, a cybersecurity platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has announced the appointment of Joe Sykora as the organization’s first general manager for the Americas.
This new executive position for Coro is viewed by the organization as a strategic move that will enable it to enhance its channel growth and expand its global market.
“[Coro’s] explosive growth trajectory and its channel-first strategy perfectly align with my vision for building a world-class security offering for the small and medium-sized businesses that our partners serve,” Sykora said.
Sykora most recently served as SVP of worldwide channels and partner sales at Proofpoint, a leading cybersecurity and compliance company. He also served as VP of global sales and channels at Bitdefender, after seven years at Fortinet as VP of Americas channels, sales operations, and advanced technologies.
HPE announces Brian Falvey to lead channel sales in North America
Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE) recently announced the appointment of Brian Falvey as VP, WW HPE Services Channel Sales, and lead the organization’s channel services strategy, effective April 1.
Falvey comes over from the HPE North America team, where he spent time as the VP of Customer Success & Lifetime Value.
“[Falvey] brings a wealth of experience in driving the growth of HPE solutions and fostering partner success through services,” HPE worldwide channel leader, Simon Ewington, wrote in a LinkedIn post. “I am confident that, under Brian’s leadership, we will further enable partners to seize margin-rich opportunities, drive long-term value, and differentiate themselves through services.”
Sophos introduces Chris Bell as Global Channel Leader
Chris Bell, a veteran of Secureworks, was recently appointed as the new SVP of Global Channel, Alliances, and Corporate Development at Sophos.
Secureworks was recently acquired by Sophos earlier this month– a deal announced in October 2024 with a price tag of $859 million. This move by Sophos aims to enhance its cybersecurity platform with Secureworks’ extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities.
“Following the Secureworks acquisition earlier this month, Sophos is now the leading pure-play cybersecurity provider of Managed Detection and Response, supporting over 28,000 organizations worldwide through our channel,” Bell wrote on LinkedIn. “I’m excited to scale this success through our global channel partner community, MSPs, MSSPs, and alliances. Together, we’ll work to protect more organizations around the world.”
DataStrike announces Corey Beck as Cloud Head
DataStrike, a leader in data infrastructure managed services, recently announced the appointment of Corey Beck, former Senior AWS Architect, as its Director of Cloud Technologies.
Beck brings with him almost 15 years of IT experience, specializing in scalable, secure, and cost-effective AWS and Azure solutions for industries including manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare, and life sciences.
“Businesses are facing rising cloud costs and need experts to optimize their environments without sacrificing performance,” said Rob Brown, President and COO of DataStrike. “Corey’s expertise in cloud cost management, database optimization, and scalability will ensure we continue delivering cost-effective, high-performance cloud solutions. Our fractional cloud support model gives clients access to expert services tailored to their needs– whether that’s a few hours a month or dedicated team.”
Cloudera hires Leo Brunnick as Chief Product Officer
Cloudera, a hybrid platform for data, analytics, and AI, has announced that Leo Brunnick will take over as Chief Product Officer, overseeing the company’s product and technology direction.
Brunnick brings over 30 years of experience in leading technology teams and most recently served as the COO of Naviga, a software provider for content development in media.
“Not many companies today understand that enterprises require flexibility to successfully deploy new solutions, but Cloudera clearly has that down,” said Brunnick. “Cloudera is the only data platform provider that offers both robust on-premises and cloud-native data and AI services to enable a truly hybrid experience behind customer firewalls. These capabilities, combined with the incredible AI talent and growing ecosystem of partners, are what drew me to the company.”
Forcepoint boosts executive leadership team
Data security organization, Forcepoint, recently announced the appointment of Guy Shamilov as CISO, Bakshi Kohli as CTO and head of global engineering, and expanding Naveen Palavalli’s role to CPO and CMO.
These moves are meant to drive Forcepoint’s Data Security Everywhere strategy and to “strengthen Forcepoint’s vision to unify visibility and control across all stages of the data security lifecycle– from discovery and classification to prioritization, monitoring, and risk mitigation.”
Shamilov will lead Forcepoint’s global security strategy and operations, embedding cybersecurity into business culture, objectives, and operations. Shamilov previously served as CISO at Varonis, Tata Consultancy Services, and Traiana.
Kohli’s responsibilities will include driving the architectural vision of Forcepoint’s Data Security Everywhere platform and leading global engineering teams. Before joining Forcepoint, Kohli contributed to the growth of recurring revenue at Zscaler and assisted the company in launching a successful IPO.
Palavalli joined Forcepoint as CMO back in April 2024, driving the launch of Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), Data Detection and Response (DDR), and AI-Mesh capabilities. Palavalli will now oversee product strategy, roadmap and marketing, ensuring seamless alignment between innovation and customer needs.
“Our mission is to simplify security for enterprises and governments by embedding AI automation into every aspect of data security,” said Ryan Windham, CEO of Forcepoint. “With AI Mesh at the core of Forcepoint’s insights and adaptive controls for risk, we uniquely deliver full-lifecycle data security across hybrid and AI environments. Guy, Bakshi, and Naveen bring deep expertise to accelerate this product innovation, enhance customer security postures, and drive our growth as the leader in unified data security.”
Dialpad appoints four new executives
Dialpad, an AI-powered communications intelligence platform, recently announced the appointment of four new executives to drive growth.
The appointments include:
- David Sudbey as Chief Customer Officer (CCO): Sydney’s focus as CCO will be on accelerating enterprise AI adoption and ensuring customer success across Dialpad’s growing global footprint.
- Kevin Williams as Associate Vice President of Sales, Philippines: Focusing on enhancing Dialpad’s worldwide customer operations, Williams will aim to assist in establishing the Philippines as a strategic hub for Dialpad.
- Ross Jack as Director of Channel, EMEA: Jack will lead Dialpad’s channel expansion, focusing on launching new wholesale offerings to empower partners in creating tailored, high-value solutions.
- Raymund Catli as Country Manager and Director of Customer Success, Philippines: To support Williams in expanding Dialpad in the Philippines, Catli will focus on building multifunctional teams to strengthen Dialpad’s 24/7 global support model while providing round-the-clock business continuity.
“These strategic appointments reinforce Dialpad’s commitment to delivering exceptional experiences to our growing global customer base,” said Craig Walker, CEO of Dialpad. “David, Kevin, Raymund, and Ross bring broad expertise that will help us scale our operations, strengthen our partner ecosystem, and ensure customer success across all regions. Their leadership will be instrumental as we continue to expand our global presence and meet increasing AI demand.”
Leaseweb announces co-CEOs, among other leadership moves
Cloud provider, Leaseweb, announced that it would appoint Svenja de Vos and Lex Boost as co-CEOs as company founder Con Zwinkels and Pieter Dijkhuis take on supervisory roles, after previously serving as CEO and CFO, respectively.
Svenja de Vos has been with Leaseweb and previously served as the CTO of the organization. Boost was once the CEO of Leaseweb USA and is rejoining the company after spending time as the CEO of Harlem Next.
“Leaseweb would not be the company it is today without the vision, leadership, and dedication of Con and Pieter,” said Boost. “Their contributions have been instrumental in building a strong, global cloud business founded on a culture rich in diversity, openness, and a strong sense of community. We are grateful for their guidance and look forward to benefiting from their experience in their new roles.”
Additionally, succeeding Dijkhuis will be Martijn Bethlehem as the new CFO. Bethlehem has been with Leaseweb for over 17 years and most recently served as the company’s Finance Director for the Netherlands. Sander Poelwijk will also assume the role of CTO for Leaseweb, following a stint as Director of Product Engineering.
“As we continue to grow, Leaseweb remains focused on delivering scalable, high-performance cloud solutions that meet customer needs,” said de Vos. “With recent innovations such as our public cloud service and Leaseweb Object Storage, we are strengthening our position as a trusted provider of reliable, cost-effective infrastructure. This leadership transition ensures we stay agile and well-positioned for the future and we welcome the continuing involvement of Con and Pieter.”
Leadership in the channel has gone under significant changes over time as technologies evolve and service models shift. Read more about insights provided by channel executives to Channel Insider on how the industry has changed.