Channel leaders 2025: The most influential

Following the publication of our full Channel Leaders 2025 list, this week we’re spotlighting those ten leaders who have spent the past year truly putting rubber to road when it comes to their channel relationships

Whether they’ve been with their companies for one year or 20, this year’s crop of Channel Leaders have all earned their stripes in channel management.

And as the sector continues to grow and a new generation of leaders establishes itself, the personal brand has never been more important than it is right now.

But it takes more than influence to successfully work with partners – the job requires business savvy, a solid understanding of the underlying technology, unmatched people skills and a sharp eye for a potential opportunity.

So, this week, we’re spotlighting ten of our 66 channel leaders who have put in significant efforts towards establishing themselves as the port of call for partners in each of their fields.

Here are our ten most influential channel leaders of 2025, talking about their personal channel philosophies and what makes them stand out among the competition.

Jose van Dijk, Cisco

My personal channel philosophy

For Cisco, partners are an integral part of our team.

I believe to drive a mutually profitable business, we need a community that brings value to our customers through technology, innovation, and solutions, making us stand out in the market with a clear value proposition.

At the heart of the Cisco channel, we drive commitment to excellence to our customers, with continuous learning from technical enablement & business enablement to serve our customers in the best possible way. At the core of this is a commitment to excellence, innovation, & true collaboration to reach the best outcomes in the market.

My channel accomplishments

I created one integrated channel strategy across key areas - security, networking and SMB - improving productivity by over 20 per cent. I also introduced new growth and profitability workshops, concentrating on white space opportunities, as well as cross and upsell potential. Contributed to Cisco becoming the global leader in managed services growth.

Pete Wilson, Illumio

My personal channel philosophy

My personal philosophy (and Illumio's) is to be a partner-first business. Our go-to-market strategy is rooted in a deep commitment to partner success.

By fostering strong partnerships based on trust, mutual growth, and delivering consistent value, we create a collaborative environment where everyone thrives, and customers achieve the best outcomes.

Importantly, partners enable us to scale and so are woven into the DNA of Illumio's business. Customers trust partners to advise and help them implement and maximise value from their technology purchases, so investing in partners' long-term success is critical for encouraging new opportunities, increasing customer retention and loyalty.

My channel accomplishments

I spearheaded an overhaul of Illumio's EMEA partner strategy, growing our channel business significantly, and adopting a 100 per cent partner sales model.

I launched our revised partner programme in EMEA, expanded the team with key alliance, engineering, and sales hires, and refocused the strategy on quality over quantity.

Sonia Mathieu, NetApp

My personal channel philosophy

One of my fundamental beliefs is harnessing the strength of partnerships to create value and drive growth. True partnerships are founded on a shared vision and values, built on trust and integrity.

This foundation fosters an environment where teams can push their boundaries and each other, ensuring that our customers' best interests are always prioritised. Celebrating achievements and fostering an enriching experience are key elements of the culture I strive to promote.

My channel accomplishments

I've championed investments in TD SYNNEX and Arrow to expand our SMB business, and we secured the first new distributor agreement for NetApp UKI in a decade, signifying a major shift in our distribution partnerships this year.

Geoff Greenlaw, Pure Storage

My personal channel philosophy

My philosophy is to always keep the partner front of mind and to constantly identify opportunities to inspire the relationship so we can win together.

This is the essence of a growth mindset - something which I instill in my team. In 2024, I oversaw the extension of the Pure Partner Intelligence (PPI) dashboard, which provides partners with better insights into where we're winning deals.

This has rapidly been adopted as a best practice approach and has been welcomed across our channel ecosystem. This is indicative of my philosophy - being a true partner to channel organisations and supporting growth.

My channel accomplishments

I've developed our EMEA channel team, with new appointments and also coaching and training. Our market share consistently increases, alongside revenues (Q3 results revenue increase nine per cent year-over-year). My growth philosophy has seen our top ten channel partners all increase sales.

Ralf Jordan, Lenovo

My personal channel philosophy

As Lenovo's EMEA channel lead, my philosophy is clear: business success generates out of win-win scenarios, built on authentic, trusted relationships. My IT industry journey, including roles at IBM, Lenovo, and Dell, has taught me that despite the ever-evolving nature of technology, the significance of partnerships and human interactions remain key. Success comes not alone, but through collaboration and mutual growth. In short, when we work together with integrity, everyone wins.

My channel accomplishments

In 2024, I focused on the continual improvement of tools and processes to ensure a smooth and seamless experience for EMEA channel partners. By enhancing collaboration, driving growth and building trust, I contributed to a predictable and rewarding partnership that delivered mutual wins with our channel partners.

Eloina Pesce, Darktrace

My personal channel philosophy

I expanded the team by 35 per cent and developed aggressive growth plans with target partners resulting in over 100 per cent growth with them. I drove the adoption of our new partner programme resulting in EMEA having the highest channel mix, highest revenue growth and largest number of Elite partners globally.

My channel accomplishments

With the support of my exceptional team, I spearheaded the adoption of our new channel strategy, emphasising strong, mission-aligned partnerships. This strategy contributed to Darktrace winning Microsoft UK Partner of the Year 2024, recognised for our innovative AI security solutions and deep integration with Microsoft Copilot for Security. This led, in the latter part of last year, to my promotion and expansion of remit to the APAC region.

Phylip Morgan, Pax8

My personal channel philosophy

The channel has always provided organisations with ways to innovate and procure new and groundbreaking technologies. I'm passionate about turning people's dreams into a reality and inspiring businesses to solve problems. This extends to spotting opportunities in the channel to connect businesses with the best solutions and technologies to boost efficiency.

If the sector can focus on unification and integration (APIs and workflow connectivity) and continue exploring the community collaboration alongside the Pax8 marketplace as a core channel, we can better connect and support MSPs. Organisations of all sizes will see the true benefits and help their customers grow.

My channel accomplishments

I'm proud to have played a key role in leading the new Pax8 EMEA centre of excellence and stepping into the new position as SVP marketplace and channel expansion. This represents our commitment to transforming business workflows through AI technology while equipping partners with the tools they need to succeed.

Scott Tyson, Sophos

My personal channel philosophy

My channel philosophy is fairly simple and focuses on forming partnerships that offer value to both parties and form long-term relationships that both can profit from. I believe that being transparent, with clear and honest communication, helps build trust and commitment from both sides, and I strive to ensure we enable and educate our partners.

This helps them grow their businesses, along with providing generic and industry-specific information our partners can use to sell effectively and have true insight as to the value they provide.

My channel accomplishments

I am responsible for the MSP business growth and strategy throughout EMEA in net new partner recruitment, existing partner growth and enablement of our MSP strategies within our distribution base. Our team has doubled this financial year, and we have added staff in new MSP markets throughout the region.

Antony Byford, Westcon-Comstor

My personal channel philosophy

My channel philosophy centres on strong partnerships and mutual growth. I emphasise collaboration, innovation, and a people-centric approach, recognising the importance of relationships with partners and vendors.

My strategy focuses on providing exceptional support and value, enabling partners to develop and profit. I value resilience and determination, especially during challenging times, and believe these qualities are essential for long-term success.

My channel accomplishments

From my market analysis, identifying net new GTM strategies for Westcon, I built from the ground up a new GTM strategy for IoT and onboarded new vendors (UiPath, Stratus) to stimulate growth for Westcon with another eight vendors in the pipeline for 2025.

Sales projections are set to exceed $100m by 2027.

Hannah Wright, Zscaler

My personal channel philosophy

My philosophy is all centered around people and enablement. Being able to provide the right skills and training for our partner community, as it all comes down to people and knowledge. 'Knowledge is power and power is pipeline' has been one of my straplines for decades. Having resources that are in-keeping with the times and partners eager to quench their thirst for knowledge to provide better customer outcomes has always been something that drives me

My channel accomplishments

I have built high-performing teams and practices to allow distribution partners to scale our business. I've also led my organisation to adopt a marketplace friendly approach via the hyperscalers.

Additionally, I coached and mentored colleagues to take more senior management roles both within and outside my organisation.