First Step: Dell Taps New Channel Chief For The Americas

Dell has named Greg Davis as its new vice president of commercial channels, reporting to Paul Bell, Dell's senior vice president for the Americas. Davis will relocate from Toronto to Dell's Round Rock, Texas headquarters.

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The move is the first major executive-level change to Dell's organization since Chairman and CEO Michael Dell said in May his company would embrace the North American solution provider channel more aggressively. The Dell spokeswoman said some units within Dell would be consolidated under Davis' leadership, and Davis would have oversight over the company's sales team and developing channel programs.

Dell is developing channel certification and deal registration programs for solution providers, and executives have said they expect them to be ready by year's end.

Davis has worked at Dell since 1999. Before his appointment as chief of Dell Canada, Davis was a top executive in Dell's printer business and served a stint as director of Dell's K-12 education business. Before joining Dell, Davis worked for IBM for eight years, including as director of IBM's North America Channel Sites and Management unit.

During Dell's rollout of its new channel strategy this year, several executives from various units at Dell had formed a sort of ad-hoc channel working group. Davis' appointment, and the streamlining of some units under his authority, will make the company's channel operations more formal.

In addition to tapping Davis for his role in the Americas channels, Dell also said it named Josh Claman as vice president of commercial channels for its EMEA geography, and may name an executive to a similar post for its Asia Pacific and Japan geography.