Title: Vice President, Indirect Channels
Years in current position: 4
Years with current company: 4
Years in the indirect channel: 19
Past jobs in the indirect channel: channel sales, channel marketing, channel business development
Annual revenue responsibility: multiple millions
Main channel goal:
“The main goal is to identify, recruit, train and reward the best-of-breed telecommunications agents and other solution providers who provide communication solutions to bandwidth-intensive enterprises across the United States. Our top priority is to serve our partners well and make it easier to do business with us. This is a goal that will continue over time.”
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Biggest challenge:
“Our greatest challenge is to finalize the integration of the seven companies we acquired over the past 18 months. We are also working to build the automation and systems to realize our vision of being the tier one carrier that is the easiest to do business with.”
Please comment on the importance of the indirect channel to your organization and tell me what you see as the future for your channel operations.
“The indirect channel is absolutely critical to Level 3’s overall success in the enterprise space to grow our revenue and market share. Our strategy is not to have a large direct sales force that covers every segment in every market but instead to use our partners to help us gain coverage and scale. We see our channel operations systems, processes and staff as being the setting the standard for the industry in the near future as it pertains to spaces we compete in.”
To what extent do you, personally, show leadership within the companies you have worked for,
the business community at large, the communications industry and the channel?
“I have personally led our partner and indirect channel strategy, programs and organizations for the past four years at Level 3. In this capacity, I have been a strong leader and advocate for the benefits of collaborating with technology industry partners, resellers, solution providers and agents. I led the effort to persuade our executive management team to invest in and appropriately resource our indirect channel efforts. I have also provided leadership industry-wide by providing many keynote speeches and panel discussions at channel events such as Channel Partners, CMP events and the Baptie channel focus North America events. I have been an advocate of indirect channels and have written blogs and articles for PHONE+, IP Business and more.”
Why do you consider yourself to be innovative in bringing new ideas to the channel?
“I have had the great fortune to specialize in the indirect channel for almost my entire career. In addition, I have a fairly unique background working across both high-technology as well as telecom channels and have been very innovative at blending best-practices in channel programs into a new hybrid model. As an example, I have implemented a formal partnering go-to-market methodology for our top partners and partner managers whereby we proactively team to develop a win/win plan to achieve joint sales goals. I was also the first to implement a PRM solution inside the telecom channels using Channelwave as the solution in 2000.”
To what extent do you engage in activities to promote or advance the channel?
“I am very active as an overall indirect channel advocate both within my company as in the high-tech and telecom indirect channels. I write, present, and speak at several events a year to promote the use of indirect channels and regularly promote the channel inside and outside Level 3.”
Words to live by: Never confuse activity with results
Childhood aspirations: To become a cartoonist and a veterinarian
Favorite band: Big Head Todd and the Monsters
Prized possession: A photo album of the pictures from his life, received on his 40th birthday
Brushes with fame: Served dinner to William Shatner, Sandra Bullock and Gregory Hines
“Craig has built a successful indirect channel program based on a partnering model that encourages feedback, leverages relative expertise, diligently tracks metrics and CSAT to deliver a smooth process to the sales agent and end customer. He has engaged senior levels of the organization to advocate for and support the indirect program setting it up for long-term success. His open and inviting attitude is clearly focused on building a successful model that the indirect channel can embrace.”
-- Jack Knocke, COO, MicroCorp Inc., Master Agent
“Craig and his team reach out to listen and support the agent channel more than any other carrier. This comes through his leadership and direction. Level 3 has several provisioning issues because of acquisitions, but when Craig’s team engages the issues are resolved quickly. They keep everything on a personal level. This is unique in my viewpoint.”
-- Dale Cooper, President, eSquared Communications LLC, Agent |
