New Dell channel chief Cheryl Cook
Dell Inc. is wasting little time taking advantage of its newly privatized freedoms, today announcing a significant reorganization of its channel and sales leadership to sharpen its go-to-market strategy in a way that should benefit most reseller partners.
In a letter to the company’s 143,000 solution providers, Dell channel chief Greg Davis, the most public face of Dell’s partner efforts since its inception six years ago, announced he’s moving on from his channel leadership role in a move that will consolidate direct and indirect sales management at the Round Rock, Texas, vendor. The full letter is reprinted below.
Taking over for Davis as vice president of global channels and alliances is Cheryl Cook, formerly Dell’s vice president of enterprise solutions, a role that saw her leading Dell’s enterprise go-to-market strategy and sales coverage. Cook is no stranger to the channel, having come to Dell from Sun Microsystems where she served as senior vice president of Americas sales with responsibility for Sun’s Americas channel organization.
One thing that won’t change under the new regime is the cadre of respected regional channel leaders with which partners have been working. Frank Vitagliano and Jim DeFoe will continue to handle North America, while Laurent Binetti will represent EMEA and Richard Lee will handle the APJ region.
Immediate feedback from Dell partners contacted by Channelnomics was positive, with most saying the move to consolidate direct and indirect sales efforts that focus on total IT solutions has been in the works for some time. Indeed, the move should add more cohesion between partners and sales in the field.
In a Dell internal memo confirmed by sources with knowledge of the situation, Davis tells employees, “We are ready as a company to show the world our full partner to end-user integration. It is a true success to say that Dell is not a direct and indirect company, but one that has an end-to-end unified selling strategy of Dell’s complete solution.”
In the letter released publicly, Davis, who now becomes Dell’s vice president of software and peripherals, writes that the vendor is “moving our channel sales organization deeper into Dell’s regional organizational structure.
“Our channel strategy and the global nature of our PartnerDirect program will stay the same,” Davis writes. “We will continue to focus on: winning in the data center, investing in training, being easy to do business with, and being your long-term partner. And PartnerDirect will continue to enable the sale of end-to-end and point solutions through one simple, consistent program.
“It’s been a privilege to work with you all to build Dell’s channel program from the ground up. Your input has played a vital role in bringing us to this point today where the PartnerDirect program is strong and stable enough to push further into Dell’s go-to-market strategy.”
The company has scheduled a town hall webcast this Friday at 1 p.m. CT to give partners additional details of the reorganization.
Dear Valued Partners,
It’s been almost six years since Dell launched our official channel program. Thanks in large part to feedback from you, we’ve been able to build it into an award-winning, globally consistent program that drives revenue and profit opportunities for both you and Dell. Currently more than one third of Dell’s global commercial revenue flows through the channel and we thank all 143,000 of you for making that possible.
We have always focused on being easy to do business with and we’ve heard from you that there was room to improve engagement with Dell’s core sales teams. So, as the next step in our growth together we are moving our channel sales organization deeper into Dell’s regional organizational structure.
Our channel strategy and the global nature of our PartnerDirect program will stay the same. We will continue to focus on: winning in the data center, investing in training, being easy to do business with, and being your long-term partner. And PartnerDirect will continue to enable the sale of end-to-end and point solutions through one simple, consistent program.
Our regional channel leaders will continue in their present roles, but will now report to regional Dell sales leadership. This means they will be able to integrate more closely with our sales and product teams, which will allow for faster feedback between partners and business unit leaders.
Your current and continued regional channel leadership includes:
- North America: Frank Vitagliano and Jim DeFoe
- EMEA: Laurent Binetti
- APJ: Richard Lee
As we take this next step in the future of PartnerDirect, I will be moving on to a new role as vice president, software and peripherals at Dell. Cheryl Cook will now assume leadership as VP Global Channels and Alliances for Dell. This team will have responsibility for defining and delivering innovative programs, training & certification and global marketing programs for our partners to grow, differentiate, and flourish with Dell. Her organization will ensure a consistent and coordinated approach to our Channel, Alliances, strategic ISV, and OEM partners.
Cheryl brings a wealth of experience in Enterprise Technology sales, both direct and Channel sales to the role. Most recently Cheryl was VP of Enterprise solutions leading Dell’s Enterprise Go-to-Market strategy, and sales coverage. Prior to Dell, Cheryl was SVP of Americas sales for Sun Microsystems, where she had responsibility for Sun’s Americas Channel organization.
It’s been a privilege to work with you all to build Dell’s channel program from the ground up. Your input has played a vital role in bringing us to this point today where the PartnerDirect program is strong and stable enough to push further into Dell’s go-to-market strategy.
As we move forward together, Dell will continue to deliver a best-in-class customer experience and our top priority is to ensure that we remain easy to do business with and our partner needs are met.
You are invited to join us on Friday, November 22, at 1:00 p.m. (CT) for the Dell PartnerDirect quarterly town hall webcast to ask any questions you have about these changes, and discuss Q3 performance, as well as our continued commitment to the channel this quarter and beyond. Register now to attend >
I encourage as many of you as possible to attend our upcoming Dell World event to meet Cheryl in person and learn more about the power of today’s top technology and IT solutions.
Sincerely,
Greg Davis
Vice President and General Manager
Dell Global Commercial Channels
