VMware Hires F5 Networks VP As New Partner Sales Leader In APJ

As VMware’s launch of Partner Connect approaches, the virtualization star has nabbed F5 Networks’ former vice president of partner sales in APJ and China.

VMware has a new channel sales leader in Asia Pacific and Japan with the hiring of former F5 Networks executive Gabriel Breeman, less than two weeks before the virtualization star launches its new Partner Connect program.

“We have so much to achieve together with partners over the next few months,” said Breeman in a LinkedIn post. “Everything from helping partners future-proof their operations, to delivering effortless value-added partner experiences for mutual business benefit, and supporting them via Partner Connect.”

Breeman is VMware’s new senior director of partner sales for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ). He joins the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company after serving two years as vice president of partner sales in APJ and China at F5 Networks.

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Breeman has a long history of leading channel partner sales organizations in APJ. He spent nearly nine years at Brocade in various executive roles including senior director of partner sales in APJ for Brocade, responsible for the company’s strategic sales plan and budget in the region as well as being part of the integration of Ruckus Networks in 2016.

VMware’s new flagship channel program Partner Connect officially goes into effect on Feb. 29, 2020, which seeks to deepen the partner-vendor relationship.

VMware’s global channel chief Jenni Flinders told CRN last year that the only way the company can achieve its lofty goal of doubling revenue over the next several years is to change the way it co-sells and interacts with the channel.

“If we are going to double our revenue in a few years, the only way we’re going to do that is through one hell of a healthy partner ecosystem that is co-selling with us,” said Flinders, vice president and Global Channel Chief. “If any partner comes to me saying, ‘Hey, I want more rebates,’ that’s the wrong conversation to have. It’s more around, ‘How do we extend your business models? And how do we help you build more practice areas?’

In the new three-tiered program, incentives will be heavily influenced by the number of Master Services Competencies under their belt. New competencies launched last year include VMware Cloud Foundation on AWS and Cloud Native, which looks to enable partners to architect a Kubernetes-based platform. The program will include front- and back-end margin as well as deployment and consumption performance incentives.

Partner Connect will be rolled out on a global basis.

“As I join the [VMware] team, I’m even more excited to be able to drive that continued transformation of the partner ecosystem, to capitalize on multi-cloud realities, the imperative for security across all workloads and all clouds, and to enhance the partner ecosystem with new capabilities,” said Breeman.