Cisco has tapped Luke Power to run its local channel following the departure of former channel chief Tara Ridley in early May.
The networking and security giant confirmed to CRN that it promoted from within to find its new channel chief in ANZ, elevating Power from his previous role as head of small business and distribution.
Power's new title is director, partner organisation and small business, Cisco Australia & New Zealand.
The appointment comes just over three years since Power joined Cisco as NSW regional manager. At the time he came from endpoint security vendor McAfee where he was first in charge of channel sales, then ran the vendor’s inside sales business.
Prior to McAfee, Power worked for telecommunications vendor Avaya where he held senior positions as acting managing director and then chief of operations.
In a June interview with CRN US Oliver Tuszik, senior vice president of Cisco's global partner organisation, said the company was tweaking its partner strategy to reflect the adjustments partners have had to make.
“There will be new offerings and easier ways to go to market and we will continue to continue to invest in digital marketing,” he said.
“Keep in mind, we're not doing nice events where we're meeting our customers and partners for dinners [right now] and I can't remember in the last 25 years a time where that didn't happen for four months. So we need to adapt to these changes, and we will. We are changing our programs. The good thing is, we had this digital motion in our marketing and lead generation, and we are improving.
“There is an opportunity if you find the right balance between perform and transform, especially for companies in the IT industry, which includes a lot of our partners. I believe most of our partners will be able to manage through this difficult situation and prepare for the new situation. We have a chance to come up even stronger. It will take time and it will be hard work, but we'll be stronger in the future together.”