Keynote Address: Joe Theismann Location: Titian 2205
Join Super Bowl champion and 12-year NFL veteran Joe Theismann as he shares his game plan for success! Theismann, who is an ESPN Monday Night Football analyst and a former Washington Redskins quarterback will draw parallels between winning in football and in business. Get advice from this MVP on becoming an MVP in the corporate world during this exciting keynote address.
Co-Sponsored by:
2:10-3:10pm
Carrier Roundtable Location: Titian 2205 Carrier channel executives discuss their evolving approach to product delivery and channel engagement in a talk show format with a moderator-led Q&A.
Moderator:
John Macario is president and one of the founders of Savatar, a management consulting firm that develops and deploys relationship marketing strategies to optimize product development, sales channels and customer-facing business systems and processes. Macario brings more than 15 years of experience in marketing and technology consulting to clients, which include AT&T, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sprint and Verizon. He has consulted to the governments of Canada, Ireland and Scotland on a broad range of technical and marketing issues.
Speakers:
Jim Delis is president of business services sales at XO Communications. In this role, he oversees the company's sales efforts through its national network of agents and indirect channel partners. Delis has more than 15 years of management and sales experience in the telecommunications industry. Previously, Delis was vice president of channel marketing for XO where he oversaw marketing programs for the company's commercial, carrier and indirect sales organizations.
Mike Hassett is senior vice president of business solutions sales and marketing for Verizon's Retail Markets Group. He is responsible for the high-value SMB segment, business partnership centers, VARs and sales agents. Prior to his current position, Hassett was senior vice president of product management for Verizon's Retail Markets Group. Prior to the Bell Atlantic/GTE merger in 2000, Hassett also served as director of marketing for Bell Atlantic's consumer and small-business markets.
Dennis Kyle is senior vice president of indirect channels for Level 3 Communications, where he has sales, marketing and business development responsibilities for Level 3's Agent, Master Reseller and Technology Alliance Partner programs. Kyle began his telecom career as a sales representative for IBM, later working for McCaw Communications, AT&T Wireless and Level 3 Communications, serving in various sales, finance and marketing roles.
Stephen M. Rowley was named as the vice president of indirect partners channels in August 2005. In this role, Rowley is responsible for managing the partners organization for Sprint Nextel in delivering Sprint Nextel’s entire portfolio of products and solutions to new and existing business partners throughout the United States. Rowley previously served as area vice president for emerging and mid-markets within the Sprint Business Solutions group in the central area from October 2003 to August 2005.
3:10-3:20pm
Telecom Association Awards Location: Titian 2205
3:30-4:20pm
Concurrent Seminars
Track One: Business Development Location: Titian 2301 Barrel Fishing—How to Catch Sales on Any Budget
As most successful fishermen know, sometimes it's not what you use for bait so much as where you cast your line. "Barrel Fishing" is the art of putting the fish you want to catch in a barrel before lowering your bait. While it might not seem like "sporting" for fishermen, for salesmen it's a great way to consistently maximize sales return with minimum marketing resources. This session will share with you the basic theory, steps, tools and a case study on barrel fishing.
Speakers:
Dan Baldwin is president of Telecom Association (TA). Baldwin graduated from the University of New Mexico with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1985 and then served aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ranger as a U.S. Navy officer through 1990. He worked for Pacific Bell and other telecom companies in sales and marketing management positions before starting TA in 1995.
With more than 12 years’ telecom experience, Robert Patlan serves as the western manager of sales and agent management for National ComNet Services Inc. (NCS), a Verizon Platinum Solutions Agent. Patlan handles all product marketing in the West and agent management for the United States for NCS, including voice, data and wireless service, as well as the newly formed Verizon Business offerings. Previously, Patlan held agent manager positions at Star Telecom, TNCI and TMC.
Track Two: IP Telephony Location: Titian 2201 Bundle Up! VoIP CPE/Services Ease SMB Sales
Service providers and gearmakers are getting together to sell their VoIP services to SMBs in bundles through VARs. Find out how your agency can profit from these marketing matchups.
Moderator: John Macario, President, Savatar
Speakers:
Chris Dunk is the CEO and co-founder of BandTel. He has a proven track record as an innovator and entrepreneur in several service-related businesses. Dunk has been in the telecommunications business for 14 years. In 1992, he co-founded CD Communications Service (CDCS) along with Rick Edwards. CDCS has become the largest provider of IVR applications and telecom services to the shopping mall business in the United States. CDCS counts among its customers every major retail real estate property management company in the United States.
Michael McGhee is the vice president of sales and business development for CommPartners and is responsible for hosted sales, services and strategic business development. McGhee has an extensive sales and technology leadership background, holding engineering positions in networking and systems. McGhee worked at the Nevada Test Site and also served as the director of administrative computing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In 2002, McGhee and Curtis Miller (CommPartners COO) co-founded Anexeon Inc.
Sales and marketing veteran David Tucker serves as senior director of product management and product marketing for Linksys’ Connected Office Business Organization (COBO), which develops and markets voice and data products targeting the small business marketplace. Before COBO, Tucker led product management, marketing and market development efforts for Cisco Systems Inc. Previous to Cisco, Tucker co-founded and led Selsius Systems as president and CEO until November 1998, when Cisco acquired the company.
Eric Weiss, chief marketing officer for Covad, brings extensive marketing, product management and business development experience in the telecommunications, IP services and software industries. Prior to joining Covad, Weiss served as an executive in residence for the telecommunications practice of the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, an extension of his role as senior vice president and general manager of mobile applications for Aicent Inc., a Warburg portfolio company. Before joining Aicent, he was vice president of Macromedia's telecom solutions business, where he was responsible for product marketing, business development, engineering and strategy. Weiss served previously as COO at ITXC Corp. as it became the global market share leader in international VoIP services.
Track Three: Wireless Dealer Location: Titian 2202 Make Money With Mobility Management
Corporate-liable wireless environments require management—not only of service plans and devices, but also expenses. Channel partners are in an ideal position to take on this role for their enterprise clients— whether they sell wireless services or not. Find out how to add mobility management services to your portfolio.
Moderator:
Kelly Teal is the business and regulatory editor for PHONE+, xchange and New Telephony magazines. She has worked for the publications for more than three years in various editorial capacities. Teal also has been a reporter for The Associated Press and a local NPR affiliate.
Speakers:
Al Loges is senior vice president for alternate channels at Vercuity. He successfully built and launched Vercuity’s partner program, Vercuity Edge, in 2006, signing 40 agents in the first six months. He continues to grow this strategic area of the business, introducing distribution models for sales agents, referral agents, re-marketers, resellers and strategic sponsors. During his 11 years in the telecom industry, Loges has held executive positions in sales, marketing, operations and product management. Loges came to Vercuity from Covad Communications, where he served as executive sales director of major accounts and director of East Coast field operations. He previously served as director of operations for US West. Loges is a member of the Turnaround Management Association as well as The Association of Channel Resellers (NASBA) and the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.
Scott Jonasz, director, sales and business development for TeleBright, has more than 16 years in management consulting, software sales and corporate business development in the area of wireline and wireless telecom expense management and profit improvement. Jonasz has worked directly for such notable firms at AT&T and General Electric. His client engagement successes within a publicly held CLEC were so notable the company had him create and deliver their corporate wide sales training. Jonasz has provided software, sales, consulting and expense-reduction services to clients such as: Chase, The Government Printing Office, General Motors, Circuit City, Capital One, GE, Westinghouse, Craftmatic, AT&T, Social Security Administration and E!Online.
Doug L. Stevens is vice president of sales and marketing at MobilSense Technologies Inc., a provider of wireless cost-management software. He has been part of MobilSense since its inception and has been instrumental in developing the MobilSense channel and direct selling strategy. In this role, Stevens has assisted MobilSense in becoming a leading provider of wireless management software and in guiding the company to a national presence.
Track Four: Vendor Presentation Location: Titian 2203 Accelerating Adoption to Hosted IP Telephony – A New Model for Hosted IP Service Providers
In this session, Citel and research firm Frost & Sullivan will present a brand new white paper detailing the economics of selling hosted IP telephony versus SIP trunking, and the impact of enterprise legacy infrastructure on the hosted IP seat sale. Participants will leave the session armed with tactics and best practices on how to effectively sell high-value hosted IP seats with the simplicity and shorter sales cycle of SIP trunking, and with the goal of growing market share and revenue faster.
Sponsored by:
4:30-5:20pm
Concurrent Seminars
Track One: Business Development Location: Titian 2301 Contract Ins & Outs Negotiating agent agreements remains a tricky business for partners. With carrier consolidation continuing and product lines evolving, understanding the terms and conditions for representing a vendor is more important than ever. Find out what to look for, what to ask for and what to expect from carrier contracts.
Speaker:
Neil S. Ende has extensive background in strategic telecommunications regulatory and technology issues and transactional matters (i.e. drafting contracts and other business documents). Ende, an AV-rated attorney, currently represents major telecommunications carriers, resellers, agents, payphone service providers and associations, debit card providers, enhanced and VoIP services providers, third-party verification service providers and other technology companies in a wide range of regulatory, transactional and litigation matters. Prior to founding Technology Law Group and Technology Venture Consulting in 1995, Ende served as an attorney with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1980 to 1982, where he worked as a law clerk to administrative law judges on matters ranging from gas electric utility regulation to the historic litigation associated with the trans-Alaska pipeline.
Greg L. Taylor has extensive expertise in all aspects of the telecommunications industry. Taylor has focused his work on transactional, litigation and regulatory issues associated with the sale and resale by IXCs of interstate and international long-distance services and the sale and resale of local services by CLECs. Prior to joining Technology Law Group in 2006, Taylor served as vice president and general counsel of Matrix Telecom, an integrated provider of intrastate and interstate telecommunications services to SMBs nationwide. While at Matrix, Taylor provided legal counsel and advice in connection with a number of multimillion-dollar acquisitions, managed complex federal and state court litigations and arbitration cases, negotiated service agreements with dozens of telecommunications carriers, including each of the major facilities-based carriers, and managed the preparation and filing of applications to obtain nationwide local service authority. Taylor also has appeared in proceedings before the FCC and many state public service commissions.
Track Two: IP Telephony Location: Titian 2201 Reach Out: Deploying VoIP in Multilocation Accounts
One of the gating factors to the successful implementation of VoIP services is providers' lack of feet on the street. Find out about ways to get your multilocation VoIP deployments installed on time and at least cost.
Moderator:
Khali Henderson is the group editor for the Telecom Division at Virgo Publishing, where she oversees editorial direction for PHONE+, xchange and New Telephony magazines, which are trade publications focusing on various facets of the telecommunications business from facilitiesbased providers to their distribution channels. Henderson also is editor in chief of PHONE+, the unrivaled source of industry information and analysis for resellers, virtual network operators, agents, brokers, dealers, interconnects, VARs, systems integrators and aggregators of network-based communications and computing services. Henderson has been contributing to PHONE+ as a reporter, editor and freelance writer since 1988, and has been its editor in chief since 1998. Henderson's career also includes seven years in public relations, during which time her client list included the Telecommunications Resellers Association (now COMPTEL).
Speakers:
Dale Stein is co-founder and director of strategic planning and business development for TAG National, a national organization of independently owned telecommunications providers. Stein holds responsibility for developing TAG's strategic planning and guiding its business development. Until the spring of 2000, Stein served as CEO of INET Inc., one of the country's most successful telecommunication companies. Under his leadership, INET achieved more than $3 million per annum in internal sales growth and became the No. 1 distributor of Mitel products in North America.
Geoff Drayton joined DecisionOne in May 2005 as vice president of business development. Prior to joining DecisionOne, he was vice president of sales and marketing for ThomasB2B. Drayton has extensive experience in sales and business development roles, specifically with Internet-based businesses beginning with VerticalNet as one of the first employees in 1996, moving on to Excite@Home and the Dow Jones Corp/Excite@Home joint Venture Work.com where he was vice president of sales.
Paul Nadjarian, senior vice president of marketing at OnForce, is responsible for overseeing the development of the OnForce platform and implementation of programs to communicate OnForce products and services across America. Nadjarian was an executive at eBay, responsible for the growth of the eBay motors parts and accessories business, which he rapidly grew to become the world’s largest online marketplace for parts and accessories. Earlier, he held several positions in sales and marketing within Ford Motor Co. where he ran Ford’s lead-management solution team. During his time at Ford, Nadjarian was cofounder of GreenLeaf Inc., an automotive recycling venture within Ford.
Track Three: Wireless Dealer Location: Titian 2202 Wireless Data: Feed the Addiction
If you are hooked on BlackBerry, so are your customers. The addiction can only intensify over time as more and more of the workforce experiences the productivity and freedom of mobility. Find out how to capitalize on the growing demand for wireless data services—from PC cards to integrated devices.
Moderator:
Natasha Royer Coons is the founder and president of TeraNova Consulting Group. TeraNova’s mission is to provide mobility solutions and wireless WAN products, services and expertise to channel partners nationwide. Coons recently completed a distinguished 10-year career at Sprint, and is now passionate about sharing her knowledge with telecom agents who are searching for new revenue opportunities. Coons earned her MBA in international business and holds bachelor’s degrees in communications and East Asian studies from University of California, San Diego. She speaks Mandarin and Cantonese fluently and is based in San Diego.
Speakers:
Rob Chamberlin is the founder and CEO of True Wireless, one of Sprint Nextel's leading Business Solutions Partners (BSPs). True Wireless specializes in wireless voice and data solutions for enterprise clients, and their employees. True Wireless ranked as Sprint Nextel's No. 2 overall partner (based on revenue) in its West Region in 2006, out of more than 80 total companies measured. Prior to starting the company, Chamberlin spent more than seven years at Nextel Communications, working in a number of national sales and sales management positions. Rob's background also includes successful assignments in the financial services industry and several technology startups.
Samina Rind is the founder and CEO of StarMobile, a provider of strategic wireless supplychain solutions for leading original electronic manufacturers and independent software vendors enabling plug-and-play participation in cellular carrier partner programs. StarMobile's proprietary multicarrier results-accountable software and methodologies allow clients to establish an additional revenue stream from wireless activations commission.
Dr. Alan Zhen Zhou is the president and CTO of Top Global, a pioneer in 3G mobile router technologies. Top Global's 3G cellular routers have been used by thousands of enterprises in more than 20 countries to increase productivity, improve operational efficiency and maintain a competitive edge. Top Global's 3G wireless solutions opened new doors for channel partners to generate revenue and profit in the rapidly growing broadband cellular data market. Before founding Top Global, Zhou held various senior leadership positions in AT&T/Lucent for more than 10 years.
Track Four: Vendor Presentation Location: Titian 2203 How to Win the Rate Game — Change the Rules
If you’re tired of playing, and often losing, the rate game, change the rules! Our experts will show you five fool-proof ways. Learn how to beat flat rates with nonblended pricing and counter-low-ball offers with real cost-cutting analysis. And, discover how to turn the customer buying decision from bargain-basement to value-based criteria that emphasize empowering the customer with information, self-service capabilities and simplified management. Join this informative seminar led by TMC Directors of Agent Sales and Product Development, Matt Morris and Sarah Graham Linares. Morris has more than 10 years of sales experience. He has helped his agents close their highest-billing customer accounts, including call centers, online retailers and blue-chip Fortune 500 companies. A seasoned pro with more than 15 years of telecom experience, Linares drives the development of new products and pricing structures for the company’s more than 300 agent partners. Her product development and technical background gives her a unique insight into opportunities in the rapidly emerging new age of telecom. This seminar is open to all registered participants.
Track One: Managed Services Location: Titian 2301 MPLS VPN: Find Out What it Means to You (and Your Customers)
If you know what MPLS is, great. If you are already selling it, even better. But if you are not quite sure how this technology fits into your IP services pitch, check out this session for a tutorial on the technology, market demand and selling strategies.
Moderator:
Ken Mercer, senior vice president of Telecom Brokerage Inc., began his professional career in technology in 1993 with V-tech industries and was quickly promoted to selling the flagship of the Vtech computer line. In 1995, a subsidiary was created specializing in part sales and custom configuration servers. Mercer was promoted to vice president of what is now known as Motherboard Express Co. and helped grow it to a multimillion-dollar sales organization providing custom computing solutions nationwide.
Speakers:
Heather Selbert, vice president of operations, leads the operations division of American Telesis for North America. She actively is involved in all facets of provisioning, engineering, installation and maintenance of American Telesis' Private Line Services and is currently overseeing the opening of the company’s newest office in Colorado. Selbert has implemented programs that have improved provisioning accuracy and led to faster installation intervals all the while driving down internal costs.
Brett Theiss is director of product management for New Edge Networks. He oversees development, pricing and management of all products and services for use by businesses and resellers. Theiss has more than 10 years of experience in telecommunications. Prior to joining New Edge, Theiss was the director of product management for AT&T. He also has held product and marketing leadership positions with SBC, Qwest and MCI WorldCom. Theiss is based in Vancouver, Wash.
David Zahn, vice president of marketing for TelePacific Communications in Los Angeles, is responsible for marketing and product management as well as the technical solutions team, which provides pre-sales support for all MPLS and data backup applications. Zahn has worked in various sales operations, sales, project management and product management capacities at AT&T, NorthPoint, WorldCom and MFS Communications. Upon first joining TelePacific in December of 2003, Zahn launched TelePacific’s initial MPLS offering now known as OneNet, which has expanded from its initial offering to include quality of service for VoIP users and extended reach for customers with locations outside the TelePacific footprint.
Track Two: IP Telephony Location: Titian 2201 Unified Communications is Back and Better Than Ever
Early unified communications initiatives fizzled out as IM, IP PBX and conferencing/collaboration tools replaced fax/e-mail/voice mail integration. Challenges like a lack of interoperability among platforms, systems integration, cost and poor user interfaces assisted its demise. Now, unified communications is back, spearheaded by big initiatives from Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. They say the market trajectory will be different this time, driven primarily by mobility and virtualization. Find out how you can profit from this shift.
Moderator: Khali Henderson, Group Editor, Virgo Publishing
Speakers:
Dan Cardaropoli is director for business and channel development within Avaya's Unified Communication Division. Cardaropoli, with his team, is responsible for the growth of channels and management of key strategic partnerships in unified communications. He has more than 10 years’ experience in senior product management and marketing positions at Avaya and Lucent Technologies focused on messaging and speech applications. Avaya designs, builds and manages business communications applications for more than one million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500.
Tim Gordon is a manager of channel operations at Cisco Systems, focused on the company’s advanced technology solutions. Gordon and his team are responsible for helping Cisco and its channel partners develop their solutions practices for security and unified communications; including planning, design, implementation and day two support. Over the last six-and-a-half years at Cisco, Gordon and his team have helped channel partners develop their unified communication practices, which have resulted in successful installations at hundreds of customers. He has spent more than 12 years in technology product management, sales and channel management.
Alex Beletsky is a member of the TNCI Advanced and Unified Communications Development Team. TNCI, traditionally a switchless reseller, recently announced its plans to implement its first facilities-based offering, a VoIP solution optimized for small and medium businesses. TNCI's plan to provision voice services to several hundred thousand lines over the next 24-36 months includes robust unified communications, call center, advanced messaging and collaboration components. Beletsky will lead a unified communications demo within the TNCI booth on Monday, March 5, at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Beletsky holds a B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from Bentley College.
Track Three: New Opportunities Location: Titian 2202
When Disaster Strikes: Business Continuity Planning
With the recent natural disasters top of mind, business customers are interested in ensuring their operations are uninterrupted by a hurricane, power outage, computer virus or other unplanned incident. Find out how you can advise customers in creating a viable backup plan.
Speaker:
For more than 20 years, Leo Wrobel’s endeavors in the field of disaster recovery planning have brought him widespread acceptance and broad acclaim. Currently president and CEO of TelLAWCom Labs Inc., Wrobel’s ideas and concepts have been published in 10 books and more than 400 trade articles. As the telecommunications disaster recovery pioneer, he was director of network planning and engineering for Dallas-based Lomas and Nettleton Information Systems, where he pioneered the first microwave "bypass" shot for a financial services company in Texas, and negotiated the first agreement in Texas to run voice and data services over the local cable provider — 20 years before cable modems came into widespread use. Wrobel was later responsible for construction of the first computer disaster recovery center in the United States colocated in a telephone central office.
9-11am
Track Four: Vendor Presentation:
Location: Titian 2203
Make Every Sales Call Count
Are you curious about how PAETEC went from a virtually unknown company to one generating a billion dollars in sales in less than nine years? Join Dan Reinbold, PAETEC’s vice president of training and development, for a FREE interactive training session on Monday, March 5, 2007, at 9 a.m., to learn the tips and techniques that foster a successful sales force. Reinbold has more than 25 years of industry experience in sales, management, consulting, training, customer service and marketing. Under Reinbold’s direction, Training Magazine selected PAETEC as one of the Top 100 Training Organizations for 2007.
Sponsored by:
10-10:50am
Concurrent Seminars
Track One: Managed Services
Location: Titian 2301
Managed Security Made Simple
A new Keep It Simple Security approach is delivering packaging and pricing tailored to SMBs and offering partners an easy add-on to access sales.
Moderator:
Geoff Shepstone, president and owner of Telecom Brokerage Inc., started his professional carrier in 1983 with Heritage Communications while earning a B.B.S. in marketing from Iowa State University. In 1993, Shepstone began a management position in the Alternate Channel Division of LCI International (sold to Qwest). In 1999, Shepstone joined Telecom Brokerage Inc. Shepstone's leadership has been instrumental in building TBI to become one of the country's largest master agencies. TBI holds premier contracts with more than 50 vendors including ATT, MCI, Sprint and Qwest.
Speakers:
Scott Kinka, vice president of network services, has been heavily involved in driving some of Broadview Networks' most advanced and innovative offerings, from VoIP to MPLS-based private networks and managed network security services. Kinka's insights and expertise have been instrumental in bringing dynamic security- and productivity-enhancing solutions to the marketplace.
John (JT) Mc Fadden is the vice president of channel sales for MegaPath Inc. He is responsible for the wholesale, resale and partner markets for North America. McFadden has been actively involved with building and repositioning the indirect model of selling for more than 15 years with the following companies prior to joining MegPath: Frontier Communications, Electric Lightwave, Qwest and ICG Communications. At MegaPath, he has rebuilt the channel sales group by introducing MegaPath’s enhanced product set consisting of Managed Security Service, VPN, IPT and SSL for all partners, resellers and wholesalers to offer their customer bases.
Brad Miller joined Perimeter eSecurity in May 2000 as CEO. Under his leadership, company revenue has grown more than 3,000 percent. In 2004, Perimeter ranked fifth on the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 list. Rankings are based on the percentage revenue growth over five years. Prior to joining Perimeter eSecurity, Miller served from July 1997 to April 2000 as COO of PRG, the leading supplier of entertainment technology products and services.
Track Two: IP Telephony Location: Titian 2201
Beyond Voice:The Impact Of Data in a Convergence Sale
When it comes to the data part of voice-data convergence, there is a knowledge gap among dealers whose focus historically has been on voice. Understanding the necessary components of a data network as part of a convergence platform is key to understanding how to increase sales of these new platforms targeted at SMBs.
Moderator:
Steve Hilton is the vice president of Yankee Group's Enterprise Research group with an expertise in converged solutions, SME. Hilton manages a team of analysts delivering consulting, research and programs to help vendors and service providers better serve SMBs, mid-market enterprises and large enterprises globally. Hilton's SMB-focused research concentrates specifically on helping clients make decisions regarding the use of technology or services, including applications, IT infrastructure and communications services, to improve time-to-market, cash flow, loyalty, sales channels and to reduce churn.
Speakers:
Jon Nelson, product marketing manager for Toshiba America Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division, plays an important role in Toshiba’s new product planning and definition of new product requirements. Nelson conducts competitive analysis, cost/pricing analysis and other marketing research in support of new product planning and development. He also helps develop marketing materials in support of new product launches. His successes include overall product line positioning strategy and product introduction for new product releases during his tenure at Toshiba. Nelson has been with Toshiba since 1989, and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from California State University Long Beach.
Chris Vuillaume, vice president of business development and channel at Fonality, was previously vice president for the IP Telephony product marketing group at Alcatel. At Alcatel, Vuillaume was responsible for all marketing and business development for its North American IP Telephony practice including the creation of its distribution channels. Vuillaume also has a rich entrepreneurial history, notably co-founding Santa Clara-based NetManSys. At NetManSys, he served as vice president of marketing, growing the company from inception to 80 employees and ultimately selling it to a private acquirer. Vuillaume is an avid power-glider and can be seen precipitously arcing from a random cliff-top in Southern California on your typical Sunday. Vuillaume holds his MBA from Berkeley.
Track Three: New Opportunities
Location: Titian 2202
Plan B: Selling Disaster Recovery Products
Contingency planning is supported by a range of innovative and commissionable products and services. Find out about some creative offers that can help you ensure your customers’ communications systems stay up and running.
Moderator: Leo Wrobel, President and CEO, TelLAWCom Labs Inc.
Speakers:
Lenny Chesal is the executive vice president and sales and chief marketing officer for Host.net. Chesal is very excited about becoming a partner at Host.net after spending the better part of three years helping to grow revenue and bring the Host.net brand to the forefront of South Florida tech companies. He is responsible for the sales, marketing and business development initiatives at Host.net. Chesal has a demonstrated track record in his 20+ years of diversified sales, marketing and executive management. He previously worked for BellSouth, TCG, AT&T, Florida Digital Network, Teleplace and ProtectPoint in successively challenging positions.
Larry Jones serves as president and CEO of SDN Global, a broadband satellite company. Jones has more than 31 years of professional management experience. Jones joined SDN Global's predecessor company in 1992 to create a new division, which became SDN Global. In his role at SDN Global, Jones manages the operations of the company, including sales, marketing, finance, technology and vendor relations. Jones has spoken at domestic and international conferences as well as participated in roundtables and panels on technology and telecommunications.
Amy Mathieu is SwiftReach Networks’ agent sales manager. She has extensive expertise in providing unique telecommunication services to organizations and government agencies for effective communications in disaster recovery situations. Initially a provider of enhanced toll-free services, natural disasters and terrorist events drove SwiftReach to expand its hosted platform to provide unsurpassed notification solutions. As a founding member of SwiftReach Networks, Mathieu has played an essential role in shaping the company’s operations, sales and client support.
11-11:50am
General Session: The Whole Truth About VoIP Location: Titian 2205 Stephen Olejniczak, author of “Telecom for Dummies,” will set you straight on the “31 flavors of VoIP.” Sprinkled with humorous anecdotes from his years in the field, the author’s presentation will help partners understand the whole scoop about VoIP technology – its variations, applications and creative ways to serve it up to your customers.
Speaker:
As director of operations, Stephen Olejniczak provides the technical know-how and firepower to support ATI’s rapidly expanding client list and infrastructure demands. Olejniczak’s 90-10 theory about business has been critical to the growth and high caliber of service ATI is realizing. He believes 90 percent of the people either don’t know how to solve problems and/or care about helping customers. Aligned with his pursuit of excellence, ATI continues to find and hire the 10 percent who can solve problems and care about helping others. A seasoned technical professional, Olejniczak plays a pivotal role in the continued expansion that is taking place at ATI. He actively teaches and mentors his staff and customers while expanding his knowledge on VoIP software, protocol and troubleshooting. Most recently, he has authored Telecom for Dummies and co-authored Asterisk for Dummies.
11am-12:50pm
Vendor Presentation
Location: Titian 2203
Telecom Marketing 101: Planning for Profits Learn how to boost your telecom sales with a well-planned marketing strategy at this FREE XO Communications seminar led by professional author and educator, Steve Shepard. This interactive workshop will provide participants with a detailed understanding of the science, art and craft of effective telecom marketing. Learn about: the major forces shaping the telecommunications industry today; the role and value of marketing in the company; the process for developing a marketing strategy; the importance of gathering intelligence; product marketing strategies; and the very important differences (and similarities) between consumer and enterprise marketing.
This free seminar is open to all registered participants.
Sponsored by:
1-6pm
Expo Hall Open
Location: Venetian Ballroom
Tuesday, March 6
9-11am
Expo Hall Open With Continental Breakfast
Location: Venetian Ballroom
Sponsored by:
10am
Grand Prize Drawing in Exhibit Hall
Location: Venetian Ballroom
Channel Partners and PHONE+ are pleased to bring you video programming from the recent Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Secaucus, N.J., Sept. 26-28.
Join Super Bowl champion and 12-year NFL veteran Joe Theismann as he shares his game plan for success! Theismann, who is an ESPN Monday Night Football analyst and a former Washington Redskins quarterback will draw parallels between winning in football and in business. Get advice from this MVP on becoming an MVP in the corporate world during this exciting keynote address.
Carrier Roundtable 
John Macario is president and one of the founders of Savatar, a management consulting firm that develops and deploys relationship marketing strategies to optimize product development, sales channels and customer-facing business systems and processes. Macario brings more than 15 years of experience in marketing and technology consulting to clients, which include AT&T, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sprint and Verizon. He has consulted to the governments of Canada, Ireland and Scotland on a broad range of technical and marketing issues.
Jim Delis is president of business services sales at XO Communications. In this role, he oversees the company's sales efforts through its national network of agents and indirect channel partners. Delis has more than 15 years of management and sales experience in the telecommunications industry. Previously, Delis was vice president of channel marketing for XO where he oversaw marketing programs for the company's commercial, carrier and indirect sales organizations.
Mike Hassett is senior vice president of business solutions sales and marketing for Verizon's Retail Markets Group. He is responsible for the high-value SMB segment, business partnership centers, VARs and sales agents. Prior to his current position, Hassett was senior vice president of product management for Verizon's Retail Markets Group. Prior to the Bell Atlantic/GTE merger in 2000, Hassett also served as director of marketing for Bell Atlantic's consumer and small-business markets.
Dennis Kyle is senior vice president of indirect channels for Level 3 Communications, where he has sales, marketing and business development responsibilities for Level 3's Agent, Master Reseller and Technology Alliance Partner programs. Kyle began his telecom career as a sales representative for IBM, later working for McCaw Communications, AT&T Wireless and Level 3 Communications, serving in various sales, finance and marketing roles.
Stephen M. Rowley was named as the vice president of indirect partners channels in August 2005. In this role, Rowley is responsible for managing the partners organization for Sprint Nextel in delivering Sprint Nextel’s entire portfolio of products and solutions to new and existing business partners throughout the United States. Rowley previously served as area vice president for emerging and mid-markets within the Sprint Business Solutions group in the central area from October 2003 to August 2005. 
Michael McGhee is the vice president of sales and business development for CommPartners and is responsible for hosted sales, services and strategic business development. McGhee has an extensive sales and technology leadership background, holding engineering positions in networking and systems. McGhee worked at the Nevada Test Site and also served as the director of administrative computing at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. In 2002, McGhee and Curtis Miller (CommPartners COO) co-founded Anexeon Inc.
Sales and marketing veteran David Tucker serves as senior director of product management and product marketing for Linksys’ Connected Office Business Organization (COBO), which develops and markets voice and data products targeting the small business marketplace. Before COBO, Tucker led product management, marketing and market development efforts for Cisco Systems Inc. Previous to Cisco, Tucker co-founded and led Selsius Systems as president and CEO until November 1998, when Cisco acquired the company.
Eric Weiss, chief marketing officer for Covad, brings extensive marketing, product management and business development experience in the telecommunications, IP services and software industries. Prior to joining Covad, Weiss served as an executive in residence for the telecommunications practice of the private equity firm Warburg Pincus, an extension of his role as senior vice president and general manager of mobile applications for Aicent Inc., a Warburg portfolio company. Before joining Aicent, he was vice president of Macromedia's telecom solutions business, where he was responsible for product marketing, business development, engineering and strategy. Weiss served previously as COO at ITXC Corp. as it became the global market share leader in international VoIP services.
Al Loges is senior vice president for alternate channels at Vercuity. He successfully built and launched Vercuity’s partner program, Vercuity Edge, in 2006, signing 40 agents in the first six months. He continues to grow this strategic area of the business, introducing distribution models for sales agents, referral agents, re-marketers, resellers and strategic sponsors. During his 11 years in the telecom industry, Loges has held executive positions in sales, marketing, operations and product management. Loges came to Vercuity from Covad Communications, where he served as executive sales director of major accounts and director of East Coast field operations. He previously served as director of operations for US West. Loges is a member of the Turnaround Management Association as well as The Association of Channel Resellers (NASBA) and the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals.
Scott Jonasz, director, sales and business development for TeleBright, has more than 16 years in management consulting, software sales and corporate business development in the area of wireline and wireless telecom expense management and profit improvement. Jonasz has worked directly for such notable firms at AT&T and General Electric. His client engagement successes within a publicly held CLEC were so notable the company had him create and deliver their corporate wide sales training. Jonasz has provided software, sales, consulting and expense-reduction services to clients such as: Chase, The Government Printing Office, General Motors, Circuit City, Capital One, GE, Westinghouse, Craftmatic, AT&T, Social Security Administration and E!Online.
Doug L. Stevens is vice president of sales and marketing at MobilSense Technologies Inc., a provider of wireless cost-management software. He has been part of MobilSense since its inception and has been instrumental in developing the MobilSense channel and direct selling strategy. In this role, Stevens has assisted MobilSense in becoming a leading provider of wireless management software and in guiding the company to a national presence.
Neil S. Ende has extensive background in strategic telecommunications regulatory and technology issues and transactional matters (i.e. drafting contracts and other business documents). Ende, an AV-rated attorney, currently represents major telecommunications carriers, resellers, agents, payphone service providers and associations, debit card providers, enhanced and VoIP services providers, third-party verification service providers and other technology companies in a wide range of regulatory, transactional and litigation matters. Prior to founding Technology Law Group and Technology Venture Consulting in 1995, Ende served as an attorney with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 1980 to 1982, where he worked as a law clerk to administrative law judges on matters ranging from gas electric utility regulation to the historic litigation associated with the trans-Alaska pipeline.
Geoff Drayton joined DecisionOne in May 2005 as vice president of business development. Prior to joining DecisionOne, he was vice president of sales and marketing for ThomasB2B. Drayton has extensive experience in sales and business development roles, specifically with Internet-based businesses beginning with VerticalNet as one of the first employees in 1996, moving on to Excite@Home and the Dow Jones Corp/Excite@Home joint Venture Work.com where he was vice president of sales.
Paul Nadjarian, senior vice president of marketing at OnForce, is responsible for overseeing the development of the OnForce platform and implementation of programs to communicate OnForce products and services across America. Nadjarian was an executive at eBay, responsible for the growth of the eBay motors parts and accessories business, which he rapidly grew to become the world’s largest online marketplace for parts and accessories. Earlier, he held several positions in sales and marketing within Ford Motor Co. where he ran Ford’s lead-management solution team. During his time at Ford, Nadjarian was cofounder of GreenLeaf Inc., an automotive recycling venture within Ford.
Natasha Royer Coons is the founder and president of TeraNova Consulting Group. TeraNova’s mission is to provide mobility solutions and wireless WAN products, services and expertise to channel partners nationwide. Coons recently completed a distinguished 10-year career at Sprint, and is now passionate about sharing her knowledge with telecom agents who are searching for new revenue opportunities. Coons earned her MBA in international business and holds bachelor’s degrees in communications and East Asian studies from University of California, San Diego. She speaks Mandarin and Cantonese fluently and is based in San Diego.
Samina Rind is the founder and CEO of StarMobile, a provider of strategic wireless supplychain solutions for leading original electronic manufacturers and independent software vendors enabling plug-and-play participation in cellular carrier partner programs. StarMobile's proprietary multicarrier results-accountable software and methodologies allow clients to establish an additional revenue stream from wireless activations commission.
Dr. Alan Zhen Zhou is the president and CTO of Top Global, a pioneer in 3G mobile router technologies. Top Global's 3G cellular routers have been used by thousands of enterprises in more than 20 countries to increase productivity, improve operational efficiency and maintain a competitive edge. Top Global's 3G wireless solutions opened new doors for channel partners to generate revenue and profit in the rapidly growing broadband cellular data market. Before founding Top Global, Zhou held various senior leadership positions in AT&T/Lucent for more than 10 years.
Ken Mercer, senior vice president of Telecom Brokerage Inc., began his professional career in technology in 1993 with V-tech industries and was quickly promoted to selling the flagship of the Vtech computer line. In 1995, a subsidiary was created specializing in part sales and custom configuration servers. Mercer was promoted to vice president of what is now known as Motherboard Express Co. and helped grow it to a multimillion-dollar sales organization providing custom computing solutions nationwide.
Heather Selbert, vice president of operations, leads the operations division of American Telesis for North America. She actively is involved in all facets of provisioning, engineering, installation and maintenance of American Telesis' Private Line Services and is currently overseeing the opening of the company’s newest office in Colorado. Selbert has implemented programs that have improved provisioning accuracy and led to faster installation intervals all the while driving down internal costs.
David Zahn, vice president of marketing for TelePacific Communications in Los Angeles, is responsible for marketing and product management as well as the technical solutions team, which provides pre-sales support for all MPLS and data backup applications. Zahn has worked in various sales operations, sales, project management and product management capacities at AT&T, NorthPoint, WorldCom and MFS Communications. Upon first joining TelePacific in December of 2003, Zahn launched TelePacific’s initial MPLS offering now known as OneNet, which has expanded from its initial offering to include quality of service for VoIP users and extended reach for customers with locations outside the TelePacific footprint.
Dan Cardaropoli is director for business and channel development within Avaya's Unified Communication Division. Cardaropoli, with his team, is responsible for the growth of channels and management of key strategic partnerships in unified communications. He has more than 10 years’ experience in senior product management and marketing positions at Avaya and Lucent Technologies focused on messaging and speech applications. Avaya designs, builds and manages business communications applications for more than one million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500.
Alex Beletsky is a member of the TNCI Advanced and Unified Communications Development Team. TNCI, traditionally a switchless reseller, recently announced its plans to implement its first facilities-based offering, a VoIP solution optimized for small and medium businesses. TNCI's plan to provision voice services to several hundred thousand lines over the next 24-36 months includes robust unified communications, call center, advanced messaging and collaboration components. Beletsky will lead a unified communications demo within the TNCI booth on Monday, March 5, at 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Beletsky holds a B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.B.A. from Bentley College.
For more than 20 years, Leo Wrobel’s endeavors in the field of disaster recovery planning have brought him widespread acceptance and broad acclaim. Currently president and CEO of TelLAWCom Labs Inc., Wrobel’s ideas and concepts have been published in 10 books and more than 400 trade articles. As the telecommunications disaster recovery pioneer, he was director of network planning and engineering for Dallas-based Lomas and Nettleton Information Systems, where he pioneered the first microwave "bypass" shot for a financial services company in Texas, and negotiated the first agreement in Texas to run voice and data services over the local cable provider — 20 years before cable modems came into widespread use. Wrobel was later responsible for construction of the first computer disaster recovery center in the United States colocated in a telephone central office.
Are you curious about how PAETEC went from a virtually unknown company to one generating a billion dollars in sales in less than nine years? Join Dan Reinbold, PAETEC’s vice president of training and development, for a FREE interactive training session on Monday, March 5, 2007, at 9 a.m., to learn the tips and techniques that foster a successful sales force. Reinbold has more than 25 years of industry experience in sales, management, consulting, training, customer service and marketing. Under Reinbold’s direction, Training Magazine selected PAETEC as one of the Top 100 Training Organizations for 2007.
Scott Kinka, vice president of network services, has been heavily involved in driving some of Broadview Networks' most advanced and innovative offerings, from VoIP to MPLS-based private networks and managed network security services. Kinka's insights and expertise have been instrumental in bringing dynamic security- and productivity-enhancing solutions to the marketplace.
John (JT) Mc Fadden is the vice president of channel sales for MegaPath Inc. He is responsible for the wholesale, resale and partner markets for North America. McFadden has been actively involved with building and repositioning the indirect model of selling for more than 15 years with the following companies prior to joining MegPath: Frontier Communications, Electric Lightwave, Qwest and ICG Communications. At MegaPath, he has rebuilt the channel sales group by introducing MegaPath’s enhanced product set consisting of Managed Security Service, VPN, IPT and SSL for all partners, resellers and wholesalers to offer their customer bases.
Brad Miller joined Perimeter eSecurity in May 2000 as CEO. Under his leadership, company revenue has grown more than 3,000 percent. In 2004, Perimeter ranked fifth on the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 list. Rankings are based on the percentage revenue growth over five years. Prior to joining Perimeter eSecurity, Miller served from July 1997 to April 2000 as COO of PRG, the leading supplier of entertainment technology products and services.
Steve Hilton is the vice president of Yankee Group's Enterprise Research group with an expertise in converged solutions, SME. Hilton manages a team of analysts delivering consulting, research and programs to help vendors and service providers better serve SMBs, mid-market enterprises and large enterprises globally. Hilton's SMB-focused research concentrates specifically on helping clients make decisions regarding the use of technology or services, including applications, IT infrastructure and communications services, to improve time-to-market, cash flow, loyalty, sales channels and to reduce churn.
Jon Nelson, product marketing manager for Toshiba America Information Systems, Telecommunication Systems Division, plays an important role in Toshiba’s new product planning and definition of new product requirements. Nelson conducts competitive analysis, cost/pricing analysis and other marketing research in support of new product planning and development. He also helps develop marketing materials in support of new product launches. His successes include overall product line positioning strategy and product introduction for new product releases during his tenure at Toshiba. Nelson has been with Toshiba since 1989, and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from California State University Long Beach.
Chris Vuillaume, vice president of business development and channel at Fonality, was previously vice president for the IP Telephony product marketing group at Alcatel. At Alcatel, Vuillaume was responsible for all marketing and business development for its North American IP Telephony practice including the creation of its distribution channels. Vuillaume also has a rich entrepreneurial history, notably co-founding Santa Clara-based NetManSys. At NetManSys, he served as vice president of marketing, growing the company from inception to 80 employees and ultimately selling it to a private acquirer. Vuillaume is an avid power-glider and can be seen precipitously arcing from a random cliff-top in Southern California on your typical Sunday. Vuillaume holds his MBA from Berkeley.
Lenny Chesal is the executive vice president and sales and chief marketing officer for Host.net. Chesal is very excited about becoming a partner at Host.net after spending the better part of three years helping to grow revenue and bring the Host.net brand to the forefront of South Florida tech companies. He is responsible for the sales, marketing and business development initiatives at Host.net. Chesal has a demonstrated track record in his 20+ years of diversified sales, marketing and executive management. He previously worked for BellSouth, TCG, AT&T, Florida Digital Network, Teleplace and ProtectPoint in successively challenging positions.
Larry Jones serves as president and CEO of SDN Global, a broadband satellite company. Jones has more than 31 years of professional management experience. Jones joined SDN Global's predecessor company in 1992 to create a new division, which became SDN Global. In his role at SDN Global, Jones manages the operations of the company, including sales, marketing, finance, technology and vendor relations. Jones has spoken at domestic and international conferences as well as participated in roundtables and panels on technology and telecommunications.
Amy Mathieu is SwiftReach Networks’ agent sales manager. She has extensive expertise in providing unique telecommunication services to organizations and government agencies for effective communications in disaster recovery situations. Initially a provider of enhanced toll-free services, natural disasters and terrorist events drove SwiftReach to expand its hosted platform to provide unsurpassed notification solutions. As a founding member of SwiftReach Networks, Mathieu has played an essential role in shaping the company’s operations, sales and client support.
As director of operations, Stephen Olejniczak provides the technical know-how and firepower to support ATI’s rapidly expanding client list and infrastructure demands. Olejniczak’s 90-10 theory about business has been critical to the growth and high caliber of service ATI is realizing. He believes 90 percent of the people either don’t know how to solve problems and/or care about helping customers. Aligned with his pursuit of excellence, ATI continues to find and hire the 10 percent who can solve problems and care about helping others. A seasoned technical professional, Olejniczak plays a pivotal role in the continued expansion that is taking place at ATI. He actively teaches and mentors his staff and customers while expanding his knowledge on VoIP software, protocol and troubleshooting. Most recently, he has authored Telecom for Dummies and co-authored Asterisk for Dummies.
Telecom Marketing 101: Planning for Profits Learn how to boost your telecom sales with a well-planned marketing strategy at this FREE XO Communications seminar led by professional author and educator, Steve Shepard. This interactive workshop will provide participants with a detailed understanding of the science, art and craft of effective telecom marketing. Learn about: the major forces shaping the telecommunications industry today; the role and value of marketing in the company; the process for developing a marketing strategy; the importance of gathering intelligence; product marketing strategies; and the very important differences (and similarities) between consumer and enterprise marketing.
