Direct, indirect or both?

Choosing the right channel strategy can make the difference between a rapidly growing business and one that is flat or in decline. Each approach has benefits and challenges, but choosing and implementing the right approach can enable hyper growth. TechBizConnection, one of Southern California’s largest non-profit trade associations for technology business professionals, has assembled a premier panel of channel experts to discuss the strategies they have used and the lessons learned along the way. Attend this panel to learn more about:

• Choosing the right channel strategy
• Recruiting and motivating resellers
• Managing conflict between direct sales and resellers
• When and how to take a deal direct
• Two-tier distribution—when do you need a distributor?

MODERATOR:

Ingram Micro | Carol Kurimsky | Vice President Marketing, North America
Carol Kurimsky serves as Vice President, Marketing, North America for Ingram Micro, with responsibility for all marketing in the US and Canada. Kurimsky joined Ingram Micro in January 2006 and brought with her nearly 20 years of progressive marketing leadership experience. Prior to joining Ingram Micro, she served for seven years as Senior Vice President, Marketing for Sage Software Inc. (formerly Best Software). Prior to her role at Sage Software, Kurimsky held marketing leadership positions with some of the world’s top marketing-driven companies, including Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut and Quaker Oats.

Kurimsky received her MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and her Bachelor’s of Science in marketing from Indiana University.

EXPERT PANELISTS:

Gateway | Matt McManus | Sr Director, Indirect Channel Sales and Marketing
Matt McManus serves as Sr. Director, Indirect Channel Sales and Marketing for Gateway, with responsibility for the U.S. Business, Public Sector, and Education segments.

Matt joined Gateway in August 2003 as director of professional segment product marketing and brought more than 15 years of progressive leadership experience in channel marketing and sales. Prior to joining Gateway, he served for 14 years at Tech Data, a major technology products distributor, holding roles in sales, channel marketing, product marketing. During his tenure at Tech Data, he was part of the growth engine that grew the Company from a $500M regional distributor to a $20B worldwide organization. McManus received his MBA from Florida State University and a Bachelor’s of Business Arts in marketing from Pace University in New York.

Microsoft | Scott Johnson | Western Regional Technology Officer
Scott joined Microsoft in 1991, and has had a variety of roles in Microsoft including sales management, consulting and systems engineering. He currently serves as Microsoft's senior field technical leader in the Western region, where he leads the Microsoft field technology team and serves as a liaison to CTO's at Microsoft's largest customer accounts.

Sage Software | Himanshu Palsule | SVP and GM, Accounting Solutions
A software industry veteran, Himanshu is currently General Manager for the mid-market accounting products at Sage, including Sage Accpac, Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 500. Prior to accepting responsibility for the accounting products, he was the General Manager over Sage FAS Fixed Assets, Sage Abra HRMS, and Sage CPA Accounting. In his role as General Manager, he has had responsibility for both direct and indirect sales strategies and execution.

IBM | Blaine Raddon | Director of Sales
Blaine has been with IBM for over 20 years, serving in several sales & marketing roles. His 12 years of channel experience include operational as well as strategic leadership roles. Blaine has 7 years experience as a client executive covering a range of industries including Finance, Communications, Education, Government, Manufacturing, and Financial Services. Blaine has an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University and a BS in marketing from the University of Utah.