CDN has just learned that Ross Pellizzari, the former channel chief for Cisco Canada will be named new Avaya Canada president sometime next month.
A source close to the situation said that Pellizzari will be shaking things up at the networking vendor.
I am willing to bet Pellizzari will do more than just shake up Avaya Canada. I think he is capable of shaking up the entire IT channel.
I really like the move because it now gives Avaya some presence and profile in Canada. I also believe this will strengthen its channel because solution providers really enjoyed working with Pellizzari. I have said this before of Pellizzari but he has the unique ability to align vendor goals to those of the channel. And, while HP and Cisco battle for the data centre and try to pull partners away from each other Pellizzari maybe able to provide an alternative with Avaya/Nortel solutions. Who knows! But, at the very least it he will make things interesting.
Last time I spoke with Pellizzari, he was working on an venture with a company based in India and before that – just aftter leaving Cisco Canada – he worked for Mastek Canada in a vice presidential level position. Pellizzari assisted Mike Dufton, the president, in driving the company's operations beyond the U.S. and exploring business opportunities across North America. Mastek is a publicly held enterprise IT solution provider for insurance, government, and the financial services sector.
But this is where Pellizzari really belongs with a vendor that is committing itself to the channel and stirring things up.
Best of luck.
One quick hit before I go. CDN also learned that Kathy Swail, the director of marketing for McAfee Canada will be leaving the subsidiary after nine years. CDN has worked with Swail many times over those years and she will be missed. She is a class act and we wish her the very best.