Juniper's Tierney Speaks Out On Her Successor, Next Move

Luanne Tierney, vice president of global partner marketing at Juniper, is leaving the company and putting high-tech on hold to pursue her passion: writing a book.

Tierney, who spent two years at Juniper and 25 in the channel, told CRN this week that she is leaving Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Juniper to author a book on best practices and strategies for young women entering the work force.

"I said, 'You know what; I need to pursue my passion,' which is really helping young women have successful careers," Tierney said.

[Related: Partner Marketing Head Tierney Out At Juniper Networks ]

She added that Matthew Hurley, corporate vice president of worldwide field marketing and Juniper's global demand center, will be taking over her partner marketing responsibilities moving forward. "Juniper is very supportive of the strategy of enabling partners to drive more growth through marketing and marketing enablement," Tierney said.

CRN on Thursday broke the news of Tierney's departure, a move that comes as Juniper looks to more broadly cut costs and slim down its marketing organization. According to Tierney, however, her leaving was an entirely personal decision, and was not related to the cutbacks.

"[My leaving] doesn't have anything to do with Juniper, although the timing, of course, is coincidental," she said. "But I'm leaving with incredible support and high regard."

Tierney for years has been a major advocate for the channel and, while at Juniper, implemented a number of programs to help partners increase the strength of their brands in the market. Tierney also was dedicated to helping partners leverage next-generation marketing tools, such as social media, to better engage with their customers.

In addition, Tierney has been a staple of CRN's annual Power 100 list of the most influential women executives in the channel. Before joining Juniper in 2011, she spent two years heading up partner marketing at Cisco Systems.

Tierney said her book, due out in June, is called #Strategies for Success @Work, a compilation of the lessons she has shared with young women, and particularly those entering the high-tech industry, throughout her speaking engagements over the past few years. She described it as a "handbook" designed to empower the next-generation of female leaders and help them build out their own personal brand.

Juniper partners, for their part, said Tierney will be missed.

"She brought a lot of high energy," said Mark Robinson, president of CentraComm, a Findlay, Ohio-based Juniper partner. "She always listened to partners and, not only listened, but took their feedback and executed on it whenever she could."

Tierney, however, didn't rule out the possibility of returning to the channel down the line.

"I don't know what the future holds," she told CRN. "I may start my own company and do marketing consulting. But, right now, I'm fulfilling my passion."

PUBLISHED APRIL 11, 2014