HPE Partners: Channel Stalwart Richardson's New Channel Chief Role Is A Game-Changer
Hewlett Packard Enterprise partners say the appointment of longtime channel stalwart Terry Richardson to oversee all of the value-added reseller partners across the country is a game-changer that is sure to help partners drive sales gains in the new year.
The appointment gives Richardson, a highly respected channel chief veteran who was previously overseeing East Region partners, a prominent channel chief role as the vice president of U.S. channel sales for the enterprise business as the company moves to double down on partners with a new sales structure aimed at accelerating channel growth. The move is a return to a prominent national channel role for Richardson, who headed up the Hewlett Packard enterprise channel in 2014.
"Terry is one of the best channel executives in the industry," said Fred Traversi, president of Alpharetta, Ga.-based AdvizeX Technologies, one of HPE's top 10 enterprise partners and a unit within services giant Rolta, a $500 million IT services powerhouse. "He has channel experience, direct sales experience and he's one of the best businesspeople in the business. He is able to drive companies like AdvizeX to perform on behalf of HPE and at the same time drive the HPE plan. He is extremely well respected, trusted and, most importantly, he does what he says he is going to do."
Richardson, a 30-year channel veteran, has held sales management and prominent channel roles with a number of enterprise computer powers including EMC. In fact, Richardson was one of the driving forces behind EMC's transformation from a direct sales channel antagonist to a respected channel power before it was acquired by Dell.
Traversi said he expects Richardson's appointment and a new national sales structure that puts partners front and center in HPE's go-to-market plan to pave the way to more robust sales growth for HPE partners."These changes are going to provide exactly what [President and CEO] Meg [Whitman] wants, which is moving the channel to become an increasing part of the go-to-market strategy for HPE," he said.
Traversi said that under the regional line-of-business structure the channel's ability to execute was weakened by inconsistent execution in the field. Now Richardson will be working with HPE Vice President, U.S. Enterprise Accounts Dan Belanger to drive channel enterprise sales growth.
Richardson's leadership and the new structure puts in place a model in which "the behavior, consistency and performance of channel players that are committed to HPE manifests itself in our improved business performance," said Traversi."Terry has always been able to get the organization to deliver the plan predictably and in a trusting way so that HPE and partners can be successful."
Traversi said Richardson's prior experience as a channel chief provided the company with critical channel stability and "relevance" when it was in the midst of major leadership changes. "We are delighted to have Terry back in the role," he said. "We are doubling down on some of our HPE investments because of this. With Terry's appointment I have a lot more confidence in the ability to execute on the HPE vision."
The change comes with AdvizeX and other partners accelerating their cloud consulting advisory business – which will be critical in driving HPE next-generation enterprise infrastructure sales. "With Terry in that job, a lot more of our solutions will be based on HPE technologies," Traversi said. "We trust him to deliver on the HPE commitments."
Traversi said he expects Richardson to combine with Americas Channel Vice President Scott Dunsire, who oversees HPE's entire channel effort, in what he called a "one-two punch" for the channel. "Scott is a channel pro, and Terry knows the enterprise value business extremely well. Together they'll make sure that what Meg calls the increasing role of the channel is true, which will manifest itself in HPE growing top line and gaining market share."
John Kolimago, chief sales officer for Anexinet , Blue Bell, Pa., No. 200 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500, said what separates Richardson from most channel leaders is his all-out commitment to partners. "It's not just a job for Terry," Kolimago said. "He believes in the channel. That's very rare. Most channel organizations take their marching orders from the sales organization and when there are challenges in the field they stand down. Terry rolls up his sleeves and does the right thing whether it is a big partner or a little partner."
Richardson is always proactively looking at innovative ways to work with the channel to get deals done in the field, said Kolimago. "I was excited to see Terry take this role," he said. "As we try to grow our business, it is good to have someone in that leadership role that understands what we do."
Kolimago expects a sharper focus on business planning to drive sales growth under Richardson's channel leadership. "I know Terry reads every single one of the business plans from partners," he said. "He is always looking to find ways to help us grow our business – looking at new areas of investment and things that HPE could be doing better."
Kolimago expects more innovative sales programs – like HPE's Flexible Capacity program that allows partners to drive on-premise solutions with cloud computing consumption-based pricing. "That program has been a real differentiator for HPE partners," said Kolimago.
Kolimago also sees Richardson teaming closely with Dunsire, who has assembled an all-star channel team as part of a plan to drive a stepped-up SMB channel charge. "That SMB focus makes sense -- that's channel-led business," Kolimago said. "Putting that business under Scott shows that HPE is committed to helping partners win in the SMB space. I see Scott and Terry working together to champion the channel to drive more of the business through Anexinet and other partners."
Mark Marron, president and CEO of ePlus, the $1 billion Herndon, Va., national solution provider powerhouse, No. 34 on the 2016 CRN SP 500, said Richardson is "one of the good guys" that gets the channel inside and out and is committed to driving a "win-win" scenario that benefits both HPE and partners.
"Terry understands HPE's strategy and where they are going, but just as important he understands what is important to the channel and the partners," said Marron. "As compared to some others, he does a really good job of matching where HPE is going to the strengths of partners. He has done a really nice job for ePlus of looking at our business, where we are going and how we can work together to drive mutual business and make it profitable for both of us. He is also smart enough to understand that you don't get there without execution. He is good at sitting down and building out some of the go-to-market plans between the two organizations to ensure we are going to get the success we are looking for."