Chew Peng Healey, Rebekah McAdams, Lorna Pierno, and Natalia Vianden recognized for strength, vision, and achievement in the channel business
In 2019, 29% of senior management roles are held by women, the highest number ever on record, and 87% of global businesses have at least one woman in a senior management role. At Extreme Networks, we are proud to have many accomplished, women leaders at every level of the company, and work hard to foster a culture of diversity, opportunity, and advancement.
Today, I’m pleased to share that CRN magazine has named four of our phenomenal female leaders to its esteemed 2020 Women of the Channel list:
Recognizing the unique strengths, vision, and achievements of a select group of women, this prestigious, annual list acknowledges channel leaders who are blazing a trail for future generations. Further, Natalia has been named to the WOTC Power 100 list! The Power 100 is an elite subset of 100 women culled from the ranks of CRN’s Women of the Channel and spotlights the female executives whose insight and influence help drive channel success.
“Chew Peng, Rebekah, Lorna, and Natalia lead by example. Their years of experience in the industry, innate desire to win, and commitment to execution will help us drive global channel efforts and elevate our vision of cloud-driven networking moving forward.” – Wes Durow, CMO, Extreme Networks
This year, CRN is honoring more than 900 women on its annual list. “CRN’s 2020 Women of the Channel list recognizes an accomplished group of influential women leaders whose strategic vision and unique achievements accelerate channel growth through cultivated partnerships, innovative thought leadership, and unwavering dedication to the IT channel,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “We are proud to honor them for their accomplishments and contributions to driving channel success.”
Chew Peng Healey, a business-oriented marketing leader, oversees our field and channel marketing efforts in the APJC region. She has developed the relevant processes and tools that increase the productivity of our partners, driving service excellence as an extension of the Extreme Networks team.
This past year, Chew Peng streamlined the marketing support of the APJC distributor network from 200 to 70, enabling continuous and transparent dialogues and in-market product awareness. She was also a key member of the team that rolled out an eLearning process to give our partners the flexibility to get trained and certified quickly and cost-effectively.
Rebekah McAdams, a dynamic marketing strategist with a successful track record of over 17 years in directing high-impact field and channel marketing teams, runs our Americas field marketing initiatives.
Rebekah worked cross-functionally to integrate the many efficacious Aerohive field and channel marketing programs into Extreme Networks’ highly successful channel program following Extreme’s acquisition of Aerohive in August 2019. To quickly drive awareness and showcase the value of Extreme’s cloud-driven solution, Rebekah and her team hit the ground running with a national multi-city CloudNow Roadshow, successfully getting in front of thousands of end-users and partners with our value proposition. In January, Rebekah also effectively launched Extreme’s weekly demo program – Wireless Wednesdays – in the Americas. Now a global program, it further enables the company’s cloud sales initiative.
Rebekah is passionate about the power of education and the impact it has on families. She recently finished a 7-year term on the Board of Directors for the Adult Education Center whose mission is to engage, educate, and empower communities of adult learners by advancing literacy skills and employment opportunities to achieve a better quality of life.
“It is humbling to have a seat at the table with so many insanely talented leaders in our industry, several of which have directly influenced me in my career and paved the way for my voice to be heard.” – Rebekah McAdams, Director of Americas Field Marketing
Lorna Pierno, a results-oriented and innovative marketing professional with 20 years of experience in the networking industry, directs our global channel demand generation and communications initiatives.
Her diverse experience and knowledge in sales-enablement, corporate communications, channel marketing, field marketing, and demand generation have propelled Lorna to become a well-rounded marketing pro. In Lorna’s first 6-months at Extreme, she designed our “Build Your Business with Extreme” program to promote our Partner Marketing and Campaign Center (PMCC). Her work has enabled the sales organization to champion PMCC and its offerings to our partners. Most recently, Lorna helped drive and launch the first phase of Extreme’s Virtual Test Flight, a digital hands-on workshop that demonstrates the value of enabling our portfolio through ExtremeCloud IQ.
Lorna is a proud Board Member for the Finding Corte Magore Project, an organization dedicated to reversing the cycle of poverty by creating social awareness through sustainable, positive, and long-term educational programs that have a meaningful impact for children. Operating from the US, and currently serving children in Nicaragua and Belize, the Finding Corte Magore Project is fiscally sponsored by a 501(c) nonprofit organization.
“I feel both humbled and honored to be recognized amongst these incredible honorees on a list which highlights that women in IT are a force to be reckoned with. I truly believe the channel is a gateway to long-term growth and I am thrilled to be a part of this journey to serve our customers and partners at Extreme.” – Lorna Pierno, Director of Channel Marketing
Natalia Vianden, an experienced channel professional who has been with Extreme and the networking industry for over 20 years, launched and spearheads our Global Channel Partner Program.
On top of being named a 2020 Women of the Channel, Natalia was also selected for the WOTC Power 100 list for the second time! The Power 100 is an elite subset of 100 women culled from the ranks of CRN’s Women of the Channel and spotlights the female executives whose insight and influence help drive channel success.
After the acquisition of Aerohive Networks, Natalia migrated new partners and initiatives into Extreme’s channel strategy – ensuring that Aerohive partners felt welcomed and understood the new business opportunities Extreme and its rich portfolio of partners offered to them. Similarly, she helped Extreme partners recognize the benefits of the new cloud portfolio.
Natalia is a member of the organization CODA, Children of Deaf Adults, which serves as a resource and a center of community for children of deaf adults as an oral and a sign language, and bicultural, identifying with both deaf and hearing cultures. Additionally, she is engaged as a guest parent speaker at her children’s school.
“Receiving this award is truly an honor. I am always inspired by women who are strong, intelligent, and highly capable in leadership positions, especially in IT. I’m grateful to work for a company that champions women’s leadership. It´s wonderful to know that we, together as a team, are doing meaningful things to drive success for the channel partners we serve.” – Natalia Vianden, Director of Global Channel Programs
Congratulations Chew Peng, Rebekah, Lorna, and Natalia on this honor. Your accomplishments and leadership are valued across the organization and by our channel community.
The 2020 Women of the Channel list will be featured in CRN® Magazine on June 8 and online at www.CRN.com/WOTC.
