Jim Gallina leads CenturyLink’s Global Cloud Partner Enablement team dedicated to enabling indirect channels and alliance partners. Gallina’s team assists partners in developing their cloud market strategies to support IT transformation and revenue growth objectives by leveraging CenturyLink’s Global Cloud Platform. Prior to his current role, Gallina has held positions at CenturyLink/Savvis including director of sales, director of global alliances and director of hosting enablement. Before joining CenturyLink/Savvis,Gallina was at Microsoft where he served as the regional partner director for global systems integrators and technology partnerships. He also held sales leadership and alliances roles at AT&T, British Telecom and MCI.

Robert Westervelt is a Research Manager within IDC's Security Products group. He provides insight and thought leadership in the areas of cloud security, mobile security, and security related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Rob is also responsible for research and analysis around a wide range of evolving security markets, including endpoint security, security and vulnerability management (SVM), and identity and access management (IAM). Prior to joining IDC, Rob was senior editor at The Channel Company where he led the information security news coverage, reporting on threats, vulnerabilities and technology trends impacting the security market for CRN.

As The NPD Group’s Director of Industry Analysis for Commercial Technology, Michael Diamond offers expert analysis and commentary about the shifting commercial market. Through his focus on driving deeper insights with clients, Michael is improving core business-to-business (B2B) services and helping B2B clients navigate the channel more effectively.

Prior to joining NPD, Michael worked for Ingram Micro for 17 years in market and competitive intelligence, worldwide strategic planning, business intelligence, and North American strategic development. During his time at Ingram Micro, Michael was responsible for analyzing the competitive landscape, developing vendor and customer strategies, identifying trends in vertical and sub-vertical markets, and analyzing near-term and future technology trends. He also presented at vendor and customer-facing events to share industry insights.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Phoenix.

Melanie Spring. Melanie is the Chief Inspiration Officer at Sisarina, a DC-based brand strategy agency. She's an entrepreneur, international speaker, and approachable badass spreading the gospel of rocking your brand. Sick of hearing the same old corporate stories, she traveled 7,000 miles in 3 weeks on the Live Your Brand Tour interviewing businesses of all sizes about what makes them tick. After the stories were published in Entrepreneur Magazine, she became a Contributing Writer and successfully established herself as a branding expert.

Sisarina created Brands That Rock, an entrepreneurial tribe of rockstar humans, while Melanie facilitates workshops at Fortune 500 companies. She’s truly living her purpose inspiring others. After listening to her TED-style talks and workshops, you'll have a solid to-do list, bold ideas, and the inspiration to get out there and do something bigger.

In less than a decade, Luis Alvarez has grown the Alvarez Technology Group from a small two-person consultancy to the premier IT solution provider on the California Central Coast, delivering IT services to more than 200 companies throughout the state. A visionary who never shies away from exploring exciting new technologies that might give his clients a competitive advantage, Alvarez specializes in working with executives and managers of small and mid-sized businesses, sharing his expertise by advising them on trends, analyzing their systems for improved performance and planning how IT can help achieve their business goals.

Niel Nickolaisen is the chief technology officer at OC Tanner – the leading provider of innovative cloud-based software, awards, education, and recognition solutions. He has held various IT and operations leadership roles and has a track record and reputation for improving alignment, decision-making and IT's deliver and credibility. Niel has spent his career finding rapid, pragmatic ways to improve processes, teams, and results. He is passionate about transforming IT and leadership and speaks about, writes about and trains others how to do this. Niel is the author of "The Agile Culture" (Addison Wesley, 2014) and "Stand Back and Deliver" (Addison Wesley, 2009). He holds an MS in Engineering from MIT and an MBA and BS in Physics from Utah State University.

Lance James is an internationally renowned information security specialist. He has more than fifteen years of experience in programming, network security, digital forensics, malware research, cryptography design, cryptanalysis, counterintelligence and protocol exploitation. He provides advisory services to a wide range of government agencies and Fortune 500 organizations including America’s top financial services institutions. Credited with the identification of Zeus and other malware, James is an active contributor to the evolution of security practices and counterintelligence tactics and strategies. James was the founding force behind the CryptoLocker Working Group, where he and his team of researchers were acknowledged for their critical role in disrupting CryptoLocker.

Michael serves Application Development & Delivery Professionals. He is a leading expert on mobile software development, software development processes, and next-generation software architectures. Michael has more than 15 years of experience in the software development industry. He joined Forrester from IBM, where he delivered industry-leading applications in mobile, social software, content management, portal, and workflow. While there, he authored or co-authored 23 patents in the areas of mobile software, collaborative systems, content management, and media services that have been issued or pending. Michael holds a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

Blaine Raddon is the Director, Worldwide Partner Development for HPE Servers.  He is part of the World Wide Partner Server organization and is responsible for driving the design, development, and deployment of HPE’s global partner sales enablement efforts.  Blaine works for HoJin Kim, who is responsible for the HPE Server Channels overall.  HoJin’s organization is responsible for development of the HPE Server strategy to build a sustainable competitive advantage for both HPE and its channel partners.  HoJin’s team is also focused on partner enablement to ensure that HPE’s partners have the capabilities to sell HPE Servers’ entire portfolio.  Blaine’s emphasis is sales and segmentation, with a focus on Enterprise and SMB, Programs and Enablement.

Blaine has been an IT sales and channel professional for more than 28 years.  His career in the IT industry has included selling hardware, software and services through all aspects of the IT channel and direct.

Prior to joining HPE, Blaine was with Acronis Software as General Manager for the Americas.  Prior to Acronis, Blaine spent five years at Juniper Networks, where he was Vice President, Americas Commercial and Partner Sales, responsible for the overall enablement of the Americas partner community as well being the sales leader for the Americas SMB sales organization.  Before Juniper, Blaine held executive leadership roles in sales and channels at IBM for over 20 years.  Blaine also served 7 years in the US Army.

Blaine has an MBA from Pepperdine University with an undergraduate degree  from the University of Utah in Marketing and lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Matt Johnson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Phalanx Secure Solutions a pure play Cyber Security consulting firm based out of Baltimore, MD. With over 20 years in the industry Matt brings life to the vision of Phalanx Secure as a premier IT Cyber Security Consulting source for any sized business. He oversees the design, marketing, promotion, delivery, and quality of programs, products, and services, assuring that the organization and its mission, programs, products and services are consistently presented in strong, positive image.

Robert Faletra is one of the top authorities in the IT channel and technology marketplace and often referred to as The Voice of (and for) the Channel. Bob brings a unique understanding of the technology marketplace, informed by 30 years of experience in all aspects of the channel. A dedicated advisor to technology suppliers (from start-ups to enterprises), Bob helps them conceptualize and build strategic channel initiatives and often meets with CEOs to discuss channel strategy. Bob has deep relationships in the solution provider community and also sits on the advisory board of several high tech start-ups, helping them formulate their go-to-market strategy.

Stelios Valavanis is the founder and president of onShore Security. He currently serves on the boards of the ACLU of Illinois and We the People Media, and advisory committees for several other organizations. He has appeared as a guest lecturer and panelist for local colleges, non-profits, and various industry events. Stel graduated from the University of Chicago in 1988 with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics. Prior to founding onShore, Stel held a number of technical positions at the University of Chicago.

Stel’s love for things technical has spanned most of his life. By age 15, he was writing dBase code for a market research company, producing an analysis tool for sale to other marketing firms. He formed his first business in 1981, producing and distributing Apple II software packages. Stel also has been involved and remains active in many artistic projects, including audio CD recordings, video compilations, and interactive installations.

Ms. Boeh is responsible for the worldwide marketing strategy of a portfolio of IT management and mobility Cloud-based applications and services. Her team is accountable for portfolio planning, pricing and licensing strategy, go to market strategy, customer lifecycle management, field and channel strategy and enablement, market analysis and industry influencer relations.

Prior to joining HP, Ms. Boeh was responsible for Microsoft’s cloud-based CRM offering, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. As Director of Product Marketing and Program Management, she was accountable for the service strategy and end-to-end service experience. Over the years, Ms. Boeh held several positions at Microsoft spanning product marketing and management, partner recruitment and enablement, industry strategy, and segment alignment. Prior to joining Microsoft, Ms. Boeh held senior marketing positions at Netscape, AOL, managed services startup Totality, Bell Canada, AT&T Canada and MTS Allstream.  Earlier in her career, she lived in France working for a venture capital firm focused on technology investments. Ms. Boeh graduated from McGill University.

Frank Rauch is Vice President of VMware’s Americas Partner Organization. In this role, he is responsible for indirect routes to market for the Americas which include, Solution Providers, Corporate Resellers, Public Sector Partners, OEMs (Cisco, Dell, EMC, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Net App, VCE), System Integrators / System Outsourcers, and Distributors.

Prior to VMware Frank was HP’s Americas Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Channels. He also held VP roles in strategy and direct sales with HP. Frank started his career with IBM in sales and executive staff roles.

He and his teams have been recognized with over 40 channel awards. Frank has been personally recognized with 5 Channel Chief awards and has been ranked in the top 25 Channel Executives.

Frank is a graduate of Drexel University with degrees in Marketing and Computer Systems Management. He lives in the Philadelphia area and is active with youth ice hockey and on several non-profit boards.

Behavioral scientist and consultant James Kane is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on what makes someone truly loyal—to another person, organization, or cause. Kane has helped some of the largest and most well-known organizations in the world, including Apple, Marriott Hotels and Major League Baseball build unbreakable relationships with customers, members, fans, volunteers, vendors, sponsors and employees.

By combining the latest scientific research from behavioral psychology and neurology with 100,000 years of human evolution, Kane is creating an entirely new understanding of what it means to be loyal and establishing a proven model for individuals and organizations to build and maintain business relationships.

Kane has been featured in leading global and industry outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek, and is a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and FOX Business. The author of two upcoming books, “The Loyalty Switch” and “Virtually Loyal,” Kane draws from his work advising organizations ranging from Fortune 100 giants to small, regional companies to deliver unprecedented insight on fostering loyalty across business platforms.

Lawrence Van Deusen is the Director of the Network Integration Line of Business at Dimension Data. Van Deusen has over 18+ years of experience designing, architecting, implementing and supporting enterprise business solutions in a variety of IT computing environments. Prior to joining Dimension Data, Van Deusen was most recently employed as a Senior IT Architect for IBM Global Services in the IP Connectivity services practice. His primary focus was Cisco WAN/LAN architecture design and implementations. Prior to joining IBM Global Services, Van Deusen was employed as a Senior Consultant at Bearing Point (formerly KPMG consulting) where he was employed in the Network Solutions practice.

Tim Conkle is an entrepreneur with more than 25 years experience in the IT industry. He has cultivated his expertise in IT consulting, hosted VoIP, and Google AdWords through spearheading two prominent MSP related organizations. As president and CEO of Roland Technology Group, Conkle is the driving force behind a business dedicated to establishing solid IT solutions for clients throughout Texas. Because of its unique model, Roland has experienced explosive revenue growth over the past five years and has grown to be one of the largest IT organizations in the U.S. Conkle also founded The 20 MSP Group, an influential MSP development organization, and is a principal of Cytracom, a hosted VoIP company.

Jason Rook is the Vice President of Alliances at 10^th Magnitude where he is responsible for developing and executing on strategic relationships that deliver business transforming solutions to 10^th Magnitude customers.  A 19-year industry veteran, Rook has held a broad range of technical, sales, and channel roles.  Prior to joining 10^th Magnitude, he was the Director of US Azure Channel Sales at Microsoft where he led a team of sales professionals responsible for driving Microsoft Azure revenue across the US though a broad network of Systems Integrators, Cloud Software Vendors, and Managed Service Providers.  Prior to Microsoft Azure, Rook was a Partner Territory Manager who was recognized as the top performing territory in Microsoft’s US Subsidiary and whose team was instrumental in building the early channel ecosystem for Office 365.  Regardless of the position that he is in, it is obvious that Rook has a deep passion for helping customers and partners transform businesses through strategic technology innovation and relationships. 

After an extensive career in sales at IBM, Chun joined Lenovo in April 2005 as a Sales Director in the Pacific Northwest and quickly established himself as a key member of the Lenovo sales organization. In 2008, Chun moved to the Global sales organization and was responsible for Lenovo sales in the Fortune 200 companies located in the Midwest and west. Despite being an avid Seattle Seahawks fan, Chun was convinced by Lenovo leadership to move to NC and take over the running of the US Distribution group. Most recently, he has become the Director for the Lenovo Tier II VAR organization for the US and Central America & the Caribbean. Chun is an avid foodie and traveler with his wife and two sons.

After more than 20 years as a designer and branding consultant, Jonathan Fisher has developed an instinct for what matters and what doesn’t when it comes to finding a brand’s core essence. The BrandExtract founding partner and chairman has guided the firm’s unified brand methodology, which focuses not on a brand’s unique selling proposition, but rather on its unique promise. He has applied this branding process in working with internal, external, HR, IT and IR communications groups to design and implement complete branding programs, for both startups and Fortune 100 giants across the country.

Jason Waldrop is the chief executive officer of CWPS, a mid-tier system integrator, serving both the federal and commercial marketplace. In addition to being responsible for daily operations of the company, Mr. Waldrop is also responsible for shaping and implementing CWPS technology innovation and financial plans. After joining CWPS in 1996, Waldrop was instrumental in building the business with a focus on automation tools and technology adoption. His vision has transformed CWPS from a traditional reseller to well respected IT solution provider and managed service provider.    His leadership has led to a robust commercial business he created to augment CWPS’ foundation in supporting the federal government. Waldrop assumed the role of CEO in 2005.

Under Mr. Waldrop’s leadership, CWPS has been recognized with numerous industry awards to include Cisco New Partner of the Year, Cisco U.S. and Canada SMB Partner of the Year, Cisco North America Commercial Partner of the Year, Washington Business Journal’s Top 25 Technology Firms, VAR Business Top 100 VARs, MSP 100, CRN Fast Growth Solution Provider and Kaseya 10 Best MSPs Nationwide.

He is active in local youth sports and serves on the Board for the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research, a research foundation dedicated to eliminating the challenges of Prader-Willi Syndrome through the advancement of research.

David Russell is CEO and senior consultant of MANAGEtoWIN and author of “Dave’s Charm School” of soft skills training.  He’s been called the “Leadership Guy” for IT entrepreneurs and has spent the better part of his career working with entrepreneurs to help them hire, manage, develop, and retain superstar employees.  Russell’s mission is no bad bosses.  His Leadership Essentials and Certified Leader services are unique, one-on-one transformational learning experiences.  His fifth book, The Company Culture Challenge,” is a step-by-step leadership guide.  You can read Russell’s latest thoughts on the MANAGEtoWIN blog, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Lisa MacKenzie is a seasoned executive with expertise in marketing, sales, product management and operations. Lisa was instrumental in The Channel Company's evolution from providing traditional media to offering a full portfolio of solutions and services. She brings her proven expertise to The Channel Company's extensive events portfolio - helping ensure that our events meet the evolving needs of our customers. Thanks to Lisa's leadership, The Channel Company attracts record audiences and receives high customer satisfaction scores. Lisa also repositioned our consulting, research and education offerings, resulting in increased profitability and new product launches.