Former Cisco Channel Exec Nirav Sheth Jumps To Google Cloud

Nirav Sheth, formerly VP of worldwide sales and systems engineering for Cisco's Global Partner Organization, joins Google Cloud in a partner sales leadership role.

Longtime Cisco channel leader Nirav Sheth has joined Google Cloud in a partner sales leadership capacity.

Sources told CRN that Sheth was leaving Cisco to join Google Cloud and his LinkedIn page confirmed the move on Monday.

In an interview just ahead of joining his new company, Sheth declined to say where he was going and would only speak generally about the new channel leadership role he was taking on.

[Related: Exclusive: Longtime Cisco Channel Leader Nirav Sheth Is Departing]

Specifically, Sheth said he will be helping partners harness cloud and deliver more value to their end customers through an organization that is committed to growth within their channel business.

"I'm going into a scenario where partners are hungry to deliver more value. They see the growth curve in the cloud market, as well as the overarching growth in cloud professional services," Sheth said. "I've always been excited to help partners create new capabilities and drive more stickiness within their accounts."

The company's commitment to investing in a thriving partner model is one of the major drivers of Sheth's decision to join, he said. Sheth sees his new role as an opportunity to accelerate business with different kinds of channel partners based on new market opportunities as many customers adopt a cloud-first strategy.

"From an outsider looking in, the company wants to lead with the channel," Sheth said. "That's quite distinct from other providers in the market."

Google Cloud could not be reached for comment Monday morning.

Google has been making strides over the past couple of years in going after more enterprise customers, but the Google Cloud story today is still mostly geared to end users, according to one channel partner executive who didn't want to be identified.

"If senior leadership is motivated to grow the Google Cloud business via the channel, [Sheth] will definitely be a catalyst in driving that growth," the executive said.

Sources told CRN that Sheth would be serving within Google Cloud's Americas business and would not be replacing Google Cloud's current channel leader, Carolee Gearhart, global channel chief, and vice president of Worldwide Channel Sales at Google Cloud.

Sheth worked for Cisco for nearly 20 years in a variety of roles and most recently served as vice president of worldwide sales and systems engineering for the tech giant's Global Partner Organization for nearly four years. He also served as director of enterprise and data center networking, senior manager of technical services, and product manager of Cisco's professional services division.