Brocade CMO and VP of Worldwide Channels Named “Channel Mavericks” by Everything Channel’s CRN

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates- January 12, 2011 - Brocade® (Nasdaq: BRCD) today announced that John McHugh and Barbara Spicek have been named two of the Top 100 Most Influential Executives in the Industry by Everything Channel’s CRN. Specifically, McHugh and Spicek were included on the Channel Mavericks list for their forward-thinking ingenuity and willingness to challenge conventional wisdom to develop innovative channel strategies that directly address partner needs and incorporate partner feedback, while focusing on Brocade’s core channel vision around Quality in Partnership.

With over 28 years of experience in the IT industry, McHugh joined Brocade earlier this year and possesses a laser focus on providing industry-leading networking solutions that help differentiate channel partners’ offerings. A staunch advocate of the channel, McHugh understands how industry trends shape partner needs and works tirelessly to ensure that channel considerations are top-of-mind within all major company initiatives. Most notably, he was instrumental in the development and introduction of Brocade One, the unifying network architecture and strategy that simplifies the complexity of virtualizing applications and enables the migration to a world where information and services are available anywhere.

Spicek was appointed vice president of Worldwide Channels at Brocade in February of 2009. Since then, she has led a number of strategic initiatives to strengthen key channel relationships, most recently the evolution of the Brocade Alliance Partner Network (APN) program to place greater focus on rewarding partners who invest in acquiring new skills – particularly in the areas of virtualization, cloud computing and convergence – in order to address emerging end customer needs. In addition, Spicek has led the ongoing roll-out of new programs, such as the introduction of technology-centric channel partner specializations, as well as the implementation of an updated Professional Services Program (PSP) and Support Delivery Program (SDP), which have been designed to fully enable partners to broaden the scope of their offerings and provide differentiated, highly specialized services to their customers.

“Since Barbara took the channel helm at Brocade, she’s definitely become an outspoken advocate for resellers and she applies that same drive and energy to building out progressive channel programs that continue to deliver value to partners,” said Daniel Serpico, president of FusionStorm. “What I find most compelling about working with Brocade is their capacity to understand that partners are undergoing a transition dictated by industry trends, and that the company is agile and quickly tailors their programs to address partner needs.”

The annual listing recognizes the executives who have changed the way the channel does business through engineering blockbuster acquisitions, developing breakthrough technology initiatives and spearheading aggressive channel sales expansions to significantly alter the balance of power in the technology business. This year’s list salutes the 25 Most Influential Executives — individuals who are focused on innovation, as well as consistency and those overcoming remarkable challenges; the 25 Channel Sales Leaders — hard-charging executives who are driving their indirect organization and partners forward with sales and marketing initiatives; the 25 Most Innovative Executives — individuals who exude innovation from either a technology or business strategy front; and the 25 Mavericks — executives whose brash and bold thinking is changing the rules of the channel.

“To be recognized within the industry as a Channel Maverick is an honor and is proof that ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking can greatly benefit the channel,” said Barbara Spicek, vice president of Worldwide Channels at Brocade. “In order to be successful, partners need a vendor partner who is willing to provide them with the resources that they need to fully capitalize on emerging market opportunities – especially given the major innovation cycle that we’re currently in. As Brocade further establishes itself as a leading-edge networking company, we will aggressively tune our channel strategy accordingly to ensure that partners receive maximum support and profitability from partnering with Brocade.”

"As the IT channel continues to evolve, we salute the market influencers leading the charge for improvement to the overall health of the channel. Everything Channel’s Top 100 Most Influential list recognizes those executives whose influence and innovation have made a positive impact on channel growth, leading to significant strides in the IT industry. From influential and innovative executives to sales leaders and channel mavericks, these 100 individuals have demonstrated the dedication, foresight and calculated risk-taking that makes us proud to be a part of the IT channel,” said Kelley Damore, vice president and editorial director for Everything Channel.

The Top 100 Most Influential Executives in the Industry were selected by the editors of CRN.

About Brocade
Brocade (Nasdaq: BRCD) develops extraordinary networking solutions that enable today’s complex, data-intensive businesses to optimize information connectivity and maximize the business value of their data. For more information, visit www.brocade.com.

About Everything Channel
Everything Channel is the premier provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services. With over 30 years of experience and engagement, Everything Channel has the unmatched channel expertise to execute integrated solutions for technology executives managing partner recruitment, enablement and go-to-market strategy in order to accelerate technology sales. Everything Channel is a UBM company. To learn more about Everything Channel, visit us at http://www.everythingchannel.com.

About United Business Media Limited
UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetisation of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com

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Contact
Ali Ahmar
Regional Sales Manager - MENA
Brocade
GSM: +971 50 1810630
Email: aahmar@Brocade.COM

Media Contact:
Colin Saldanha
Procre8
PO BOX 78835
Dubai - UAE
GSM: +971 (50) 6400762
Email: colin@procre8.biz

This release was published on openPR.