Sergio and CRN Channel Chiefs GraphicWe have a very special announcement to share with you!  CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Sergio Bea, Viavi’s Vice President Worldwide Channels, to its prestigious list of 2016 Channel Chiefs. The executives on this annual list represent top leaders in the IT channel who excel at driving growth and revenue in their organizations through channel partners.

Channel Chief honorees are selected by CRN’s editorial staff on the basis of their professional achievements, standing in the industry, dedication to the channel partner community and strategies for driving future growth and innovation. Each of the 2016 Channel Chiefs has demonstrated loyalty and ongoing support for the IT channel by consistently promoting, defending and executing outstanding channel partner programs.

Sergio was chosen as a 2016 Channel Chief because of his 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry across various disciplines, including sales, strategy and services. Sergio joined Viavi Solutions in March 2015 and is leading the implementation of a revived channel-partner strategy that enables the company and our partners to more effectively deliver Viavi’s unique solution set to service providers, network equipment manufacturers and enterprises of all types.

Also factoring into the decision to honor Sergio as a 2016 Channel Chief were the significant accomplishments he led the Viavi Channel Team in implementing over the past year.  Most notably, are:

  • The launch of Viavi’s first ever branded partner program, Velocity, in the 90-year history of the company (as JDSU). Sergio joined the company in March 2015, gained executive support and then led the team for the full design and implementation of Viavi’s Velocity Partner Program by November 2015.
  • The complete overhaul of Viavi’s partner engagement model. Sergio designed and led the execution of the strategy resulting in much tighter alignment with strategic channels, leveraging best practices and providing tools that increase our relevance both with and through our partners.
  • The implementation a Marketing Development Funds (MDF) contra-revenue model that is fueling over $3M in marketing funds to our channel. Sergio led the team that worked with Finance and our auditors to implement in record time.

Super impressive, right?  We asked Sergio about his plans for the coming year.  Here’s what he said: “We are combining a very powerful solution set for the enterprise market with a very aggressive partner program (in terms of benefits, potential margin and growth incentives). As we continue to virtualize our solutions, we will now go after System Integrators with Cloud and SDN / NFV background to enable the positioning of our more complex solutions and boost managed services and recurring-revenue models. We will be looking to attract new relationships into this segment in the next coming months.”

Here’s what Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company has to say about the Channel Chiefs:  “We are honored to present the 2016 lineup of CRN Channel Chiefs, comprised of outstanding executives who move our entire industry forward by cultivating exemplary partner programs and executing cutting-edge business strategy,” said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. “They represent an extraordinary group of individuals who lead by example and serve as both invaluable advocates and innovators of the IT channel. We applaud their incredible strides and look forward to following their accomplishments in the coming year.”

The 2016 CRN Channel Chiefs list is featured in the February 2016 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/channelchiefs.

Please join us in congratulating Sergio on this industry recognition!

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