The Chief Channel Officer

A New C-Level Position

The new C-level position, the Chief Channel Officer (CCO), might be the fuel needed to help companies achieve greater growth and increased profitability.

Long gone are the days when a company was helmed solely by a chief executive officer. Recognizing that executives in C-level positions are uniquely positioned to motivate, direct and enact the strategic priorities under their auspices, many companies now employ any combination of a CIO, CMO, CTO and COO. When a company creates a new C-level position, it conveys a strong message – both to its employees and to its potential partners and customers – that the subject area is a critically important strategic priority.

The Chief Channel Officer (CCO) is an already-established board job role, acting as the head of all indirect revenue from partners within an organization. The Channel Chief typically reports to the Chief Executive Officer as a corporate officer or to the Chief Operations Officer (COO). The COO is usually an executive or senior-vice-president position responsible for the daily management of the day-to-day activities of the corporation. The COO is one of the highest-ranking members of an organization, monitoring the daily operations of the company, organization or agency indirect sales as well as business alliances. They also have primary or shared responsibility for areas such as sales management, product development, distribution channel management, public relations, marketing communications (including advertising and promotions), pricing, market research, customer service and programs.

This leads us to believe that in today's tough economic environment, establishing a new C-level position, the Chief Channel Officer (CCO), might be the fuel needed to help companies achieve greater growth and increased profitability through their partner channels. The fact is that many companies increasingly view alliances and channel partners as a critical part of meeting their fiscal goals. The average technology company generates between 10 percent to 50 percent of its revenues through indirect channels and resellers. Mark von Rosing, a thought leader in the C-level field, notes that "companies are using partners and alliances more and more because they can open the door to new business opportunities at less cost, and with greater speed and lower risk than traditional M&A or even internal growth initiatives."

When an organization begins to attribute significant contributions to its success from its channel strategy and alliances, it may be time to institute a Chief Channel Officer (or Chief Alliance Officer) in order to establish a critical communication link between the "channel chief" and the executive suite. With direct and regular interaction with the CEO, the CCO is better able to influence decisions that drive the business and shape corporate strategy at the highest level. The CCO is suddenly in a position to ensure that alliance and channel strategies integrally support and are aligned with corporate goals.

The Driving Forces.

When a company establishes a CCO, it recognizes the contribution alliances make to ongoing customer satisfaction levels, company growth and profitability. These factors form the driving force that propels the "channel chief" into the C-suite boardroom. In a report on the value of alliances, Gartner Dataquest found that executive-level support and sponsorship emerged as number one on the relationship value driver list. Even more than financial commitment -- which ranked 12th on the same list -- executive support and sponsorship is perceived as a key indicator of organizational commitment to an alliance. Not only can executive leadership instigate alliance programs, it can also empower the alliance and channel organizations by providing the strategic direction and financial support required to fully execute programs.

Understanding this dynamic and the integral role channels play in their success, some of today's most successful organizations, including IBM, Microsoft and eBay, have already begun to intimately involve top executives in forming their channel strategies. And when C-level executives get involved, channel relationships are typically transformed from opportunistic to strategic in nature. C-level involvement also keeps the channel strategy close to the center of the core business. A 2004 report by the Patricia Seybold Group suggests that there should be a senior executive responsible for the entire "customer experience."

This position would be ultimately responsible for the quality of the entire end-to-end customer experience. The report notes, "...gaps appear between your go-to-market organizations ... between direct sales and your partner, OEM or retail sales and support channels...to address and eradicate customer experience gaps proactively you'll need someone highly placed in the organization who has the clout to make policy changes and business process changes." In the end, the title that the "Channel Chief" of an organization holds doesn't matter as much as having a place "at the table" or on the executive team that defines direction and strategy for the company. However, by creating a C-level title for this position, a company does send a strong message to the entire organization -- and to key external stakeholders -- that it is wholly committed to success through the channel. The first organization to appoint a senior channel executive to a C-level position will surely receive the utmost praise from their partner community and recognition as a thought leader in channel operations.

The "Most influential Channel Chiefs" voted by CRN

1. Keith Goodwin, SVP, Worldwide Channels, Cisco
2. John Thompson, VP, Solution Partners Organization – Americas, Hewlett Packard
3. Rauline Ochs, VP, Alliances & Channels, Oracle
4. Henrik Scheel, VP, Channels & Business Partners - IBM Europe, Africa & Middle East
5. Sharon Brindley, VP, Business Channels, Lexmark
6. Klaus Holse Andersen, VP, Partner Group, Microsoft
7. John Koury, VP, Global Channel & Marketing, EMC
8. Allison Watson, VP, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft
9. Julie Parrish, VP Global Channel Sales & Strategy, Symantec
10. Taylor MacDonald, VP, Channel & Sales Operations - SAGE SOFTWARE

The VARBusiness Top 100 Chief Channel Officers that "set and execute agendas, enabling their partners' businesses to flourish."

- Acer America: Mark Hill

- ADTRAN: Steven L. Harvey

- Advanced Micro Devices: Michael O'Brien

- Advanced Micro Devices: Patrick Moorhead

- Altiris: Rick McCord

- Avaya: Ken Archer

- Avocent: Dudley DeVore

- Barracuda Networks : Ezra Hookano

- BMC Software: Lori Cook

- Brother International: Eric Nordby

- Business Objects: Janet E. Wood

- CA: James Hanley

- Captaris: Edward M. Pasatiempo

- Check Point Software Technologies: Kevin Maloney

- CipherTrust: Steve Sheinbaum

- Cisco Systems: Chuck Robbins

- Cisco Systems: Edison Peres

- Cisco Systems: Keith Goodwin

- Citrix Systems: Mitch Parker

- Corel: Fiaaz Walji

- D-Link Systems: Keith Karlsen

- EMC: Gregg Ambulos, John P. Koury and Larry Zulch

- Emulex: Steve Marconi

- Enterasys Networks: Jim Harold

- Exabyte: Kerry P. Brock

- F5 Networks: Dean Darwin

- FalconStor Software: Wendy M. Petty

- Fujitsu Computer Products of America : Lorne Wilson and Victor Kan

- Gateway : Matt McManus

- Google: Dave Girouard

- Hewlett-Packard: John Thompson and Rich Raimondi

- Hitachi Data Systems: Tom Valiante

- Hitachi Global Storage Technologies: Willie Evans

- Hyperion Solutions: Mercedes Ellison

- IBM: Henrik Scheel and Ravi Marwaha

- Intel: Shirley Turner and Steve Dallman

- Iomega: Ronald J. Gillies

- Juniper Networks: Frank Vitagliano and Robert Bob Bruce

- Konica Minolta Printing Solutions: Don Hsieh

- LANDesk Software: Don Tarwater

- Lantronix: Brad Painter

- Laserfiche: Chris Wacker

- Lenovo: Mark Enzweiler

- Lexmark International: John Linton and Sharon Brindley

- Linksys, A Division of Cisco Systems: Nigel Williams

- Maxtor: John Vossoughi

- McAfee: David Roberts

- Microsoft: Allison Watson and Margo Day

- NEC Solutions America: Efrem Stringfellow and Larry Sheffield

- NETGEAR: Michael Werdann

- Network Appliance: Leonard Iventosch and Stanley P. Jaworski, Jr.

- Network Engines: Greg Shortell

- Nortel: Jeff Taylor

- Novell: Ladd Timpson

- Oki Data Americas: Christopher Froman

- Oracle : Rauline Ochs

- Overland Storage: George Karabatsos

- Panasonic Computer Solutions: Sheila O'Neil

- Phoenix Technologies: Brian Berlin

- Quantum: Bill Cox

- Ricoh: Ann Elizabeth Moser

- SafeNet: Tim Russell

- Sage Software: Taylor Macdonald

- salesforce.com: John Freeland

- SAP: Eric Duffaut and Ira Simon

- SAP America: Michael Sotnick

- Seagate Technology: Jeff Loebbaka

- Siemens Communications: Rick Fitzgerald

- Silicon Graphics: Geoff Healey

- SilverBack Technologies: Jim Hare

- SonicWALL: John DiLullo and Marvin Blough

- Sony: Jay Dishong

- SurfControl: David Harris

- Symantec: Julie Parrish and Randy Cochran

- 3Com: Nick Tidd

- Toshiba America Information Systems: Jerry Lumpkin

- Trend Micro: Nancy D. Reynolds

- UGS Corp.: Kerry K. Grimes

- ViewSonic: Jeff Volpe

- Visioneer: Don McMahan

- VMware: Amaury Gallisa

- WatchGuard Technologies: Dale Bastian

- Wyse Technology: Tarkan Maner

- Xerox: Jerry Farmer and Gary Gillam

- Zebra Technologies: Juliann Larimer

"Channel Chief Executives" to watch by VARBusiness as up-and-coming channel leaders. Don't take your eyes off of them for a second.

- Alcatel : Don Trace

- American Power Conversion (APC): Peter Klanian

- ANTs Software: Patrick Moore

- Array Networks: Richard Henderson

- AVST: Denny Michael

- BakBone Software: Mark Milford

- Cincom Systems: Gregor Newland and Ron Hank

- Cisco Systems: Dawn Duross and Liz Lawson

- Citrix Systems: Bill Burley and Nancy Binnie

- CollabNet: Chris Clabaugh

- CosmoCom: Leron Polani

- Double-Take Software: Dan Jones

- Endace USA: Gary Woods

- FrontRange Solutions: Jim O'Gara

- IBM: Lillian Barnard, Jim Corgel and Towney Kennard

- IKON Office Solutions: Michael E. Kohlsdorf

- Info Tech: William Bill H. H. Walker

- Ingres: Wayne Webster

- IronPort Systems: Jim Hyman

- Isilon Systems: Tom Pettigrew

- LANDesk Software: Bill Smith

- Lexmark International: Scott Dunsire

- Liebert Corporation: Tom Karabinos

- Long View Systems: Dan Sottile

- MailFrontier: Bobbi Frioli

- Maximizer Software: Peter M. Callaghan

- MX Logic: Ken Totura

- NaviSite: Michael Mazur

- NEC Display Solutions: Clark Brown

- NEC Unified Solutions: Charlie Langdon

- NetScout Systems: Bruce Dew

- NetSuite, Inc: Adam Ross

- NextDay Network: Ramin Movahedi

- Nuvio : Brandon W. Fuhr

- Oncontact Software: Tim Vertz

- Orthogon Systems Inc.: Kirk Byles

- Overland Storage: Christie Huff

- Pandora Networks: Jon Beck

- PatchLink: Chris Gardner

- Privacyware: Greg Salvato

- Progress Software: Julie D. Christiansen

- Proofpoint: Allison Ash

- R.B. Zack & Associates: Boyd Zack

- Raritan Computer: Richard J. Moscioni

- Red Condor: Ron Longo

- SANRAD: Laura Padilla

- Seagate Technology: Desa Zraick

- ServGate Technologies: Atchison Frazer

- Shavlik Technologies: Paul Jacobsen

- SonicWALL: Lief Koepsel

- SpectraLink: Matt Huntsman

- Storix: Manuel Altamirano

- Symbol Technologies: Jan Burton

- SYSPRO: Joey Benadretti

- TalkSwitch: Tim Welch

- Team One Networking: Bob Inpyn

- TurnTool: Claus Bang Olsen

- Winternals Software LP: Melissa Hadley

- Xerox Corporation: Jim Firestone

- ZSL: Shiv Kumar

About the Author:

In his current role as VP & Channel Channel Officer for the IBMs Channels & Business Partner Business Unit in EMEA, Henrik Scheel is responsible for all aspects of IBMs indirect business across North Europe, Middle East and Africa. Leading a sales team of 192 to drive the sales of IBM entire portfolios towards 60,000 partners.

Contact Information:

Hsch@ch.ibm.com