Gulf Breeze, Florida, Oct. 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has recognized AppRiver’s Chris Essex, Senior Vice President of Global Sales, as one of its 100 People You Don’t Know But Should in the IT channel for 2018.
This annual list is compiled by the CRN editorial team, using feedback from solution providers and industry executives, to acknowledge channel management team members from the industry’s top vendors and distributors. Those recognized on this list work diligently to drive innovation, profits, and successful partnerships, keeping the IT channel growing and their firms thriving.
In early 2018, AppRiver created the position of senior vice president of global sales – a role that was in keeping with the company’s strategic shift to a security-driven, channel-first focus and rapid expansion of its reseller community in new markets around the world.
With more than 15 years of sales leadership in the technology space – including a wealth of experience in growing and developing reseller channels – Essex has elevated and accelerated the company’s efforts to engage, enable, and acquire channel partners in the US and worldwide. At the heart of that effort is an expanded security portfolio, along with new training, marketing tools, and incentives - including lead-sharing.
“Chris is a very focused, high-energy leader. You can feel it when he walks into the room. He’s brought a new vision to our sales team and raised the bar on our phenomenal sales approach,” said Michael Murdoch, AppRiver president and CEO. “With Chris at the helm, our partners are going to find even more reasons to be excited about AppRiver.”
In less than a year, Murdoch said, Essex has transformed the sales team from selling features to solving issues for partners – and helping them do the same for their customers. With a shift to solution-based selling, he has led AppRiver to a monthly recurring revenue increase that is two-and-a-half times the prior quarters’ growth rates.
Along with that transformation, Essex is also focused on maximizing partner growth by expanding AppRiver's security portfolio with additional tools and services.
Previously a vice president for Forcepoint (formerly Websense), Essex has established a long track record of developing successful, high-growth sales teams that focused on enterprises and SMBs, as well as vertical and specialty markets, in the US and abroad.
“This outstanding group of unsung channel heroes work tirelessly to create, promote, and manage programs and policies that support their partners and the advancement of the channel overall,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “We are honored to bring these individuals into the spotlight with CRN’s 2018 list of 100 People You Don’t Know But Should and to recognize them for their undeniable contributions to the channel.”
The 2018 list of 100 People You Don’t Know But Should will be featured in the October issue of CRN and can be viewed online at www.crn.com/100people.
About AppRiver
AppRiver is a channel-first provider of cloud-enabled security and productivity services, with a 4,500-strong reseller community that protects more than 67,000 companies worldwide against a growing list of dangerous online threats. Among the world’s top Office 365 and Secure Hosted Exchange providers, the company’s brand is built on highly effective security services backed by 24/7 white-glove Phenomenal Care® customer service. AppRiver is headquartered in Gulf Breeze, Florida and maintains offices in Georgia, Texas, Canada, Switzerland, and Spain. For more information, please visit www.appriver.com.
About the Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com
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Jennifer Hogan
The Channel Company
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