By Wendy Harmon
As a proud sponsor of the Alliance of Channel Women, RingCentral is deeply committed to ACW’s mission of empowering and advancing women’s careers and leadership in the channel. Our support for ACW is one of the many ways RingCentral promotes gender equity and overall diversity. Another example is showcasing our talented and driven women in the channel. Here are just a few of the people who dedicate themselves every day in support of our partners.
Meet Della Pretzer, Senior Regional Partner Manager
What are your current responsibilities? My focus is building partner relationships, educating partners, and facilitating mutual success in the Northern U.S.
What do you like the most about working in the channel? [I like] learning about the nuances of each partner’s business and helping them grow revenue streams in a way that fits their strategy.
Where do you see the most opportunity for your role in impacting the channel? Through the relationships I’ve built both with partners and within RingCentral. I’ve been in the channel for over 20 years and have always advocated for partners’ success. Internally, I also find tremendous value and opportunity in mentoring other women in the channel.
What motivates you? Winning! I am a very competitive person by nature. More specifically, [I’m motivated by] winning when my partners win.
What channel topics are you most passionate about? For me, it all comes back to people, both in building relationships with partners and mentoring other women in the channel.
How does RingCentral support women in the channel? RingCentral is extremely focused on DEI, [which] is apparent in everything we do, specifically how our women are supported in the channel organization. Zane Long, [Senior Vice President of Global Partner Sales]; Dean Young, [Assistant Vice President of Partner Sales, North]; and Wendy Harmon, [Assistant Vice President of Channel Marketing], have always been supportive and encouraging to me and other women in the channel.
Anything else you’d like to share? I had previously left the channel for a few years and missed it. When I decided to jump back in, several partners sent my resume to RingCentral and advocated for my hiring. That meant so much to me, as I felt tremendously blessed, and I am fortunate to continue to work with those partners still today.
Meet Alix Jordan, Senior National Technology Service Distributor (TSD) Manager
What are your current responsibilities? I support RingCentral’s relationships and efforts with some of our largest TSDs, who are key to helping our partners find success.
What do you like the most about working in the channel? The people! Specifically, the opportunity to build strong relationships. The ability to support our partners in hyper-growth mode is exciting and challenging. I also enjoy the proximity to technology innovation; there is always a chance to learn something new.
Where do you see the most opportunity for your role in impacting the channel? Identifying new partnership opportunities, developing innovative growth strategies and building stronger relationships with existing partners [present the most opportunity]. One of the most impactful initiatives for our team is supporting traditional VAR and distribution partners in their transition to the cloud and a recurring revenue model. We understand that the days of selling hardware as standalone services are behind us, and partners need to evolve accordingly. Our focus is on helping partners build a sustainable business model that can withstand the ever-changing landscape of the industry.
What motivates you? [I’m motivated by] a desire to achieve success and make a positive impact. I firmly believe that my passions and dedication to my work are crucial in delivering the best possible value to RingCentral and our partners. I take pride in my commitment to providing exceptional support and strive to impact our TSD and partner community positively.
What channel topics are you most passionate about? [I’m passionate about] finding ever-new ways to evolve our partner support and enablement.
How does RingCentral support women in the channel? I feel very fortunate to be part of a company that recognizes and values women’s essential contributions across all areas of the organization. At RingCentral, specialized groups and resources are dedicated to supporting and promoting women in technology, including leadership opportunities. Being part of a team where women can achieve excellence in their roles and build solid and lasting relationships with like-minded colleagues is genuinely fulfilling.
Meet Jen Lester, Territory Partner Manager for California
What are your current responsibilities? I’m responsible for recruiting, training and supporting the highest-performing channel partners along the Pacific Coast.
What do you like the most about working in the channel? I love that I get to collaborate with all different types of people at different organizations, working toward a common goal and winning together as a team. I truly enjoy the variety of the channel role as well, focusing on multiple areas like enablement, marketing, sales and support. This keeps it exciting!
Where do you see the most opportunity for your role in impacting the channel? I listen to my partners, value their feedback, align to their goals to the best of my abilities, and make myself accessible at any time. I believe it is extremely important to build trust in every partnership, as this alone will make us successful together.
What motivates you? My family, fur babies included!
What channel topics are you most passionate about? [I’m passionate about] helping my partners grow their businesses and make customers for life. I get excited when collaborating on marketing activities and [giving] my partners a perspective or insight into the business, or even their customers, that they were not already privy to. I happen to be a bit of a CRM reporting nerd, and that can go a long way when trying to build a predictable revenue model.
How does RingCentral support women in the channel? It’s refreshing to work for a company that supports women, not just in the channel but across our entire organization. RingCentral continues to advocate for women in leadership and consistently celebrates our achievements. We have numerous groups within the company dedicated to advancing women in tech, and I’m so thankful to be a part of the channel where we can thrive in our roles and continue to build strong connections with other like-minded women.
Anything else you’d like to share? Having two girls under the age of four keeps me on my toes!
About the Author
As Assistant Vice President of Global Channel Marketing, Wendy Harmon leads RingCentral’s global partner program, RingCentral Reach™, supporting more than 15,000 channel partners worldwide. In doing so, her goal is to make RingCentral the channel’s easiest SaaS vendor to work with.
With more than 30 years of software experience leading global product, customer success and operation teams, Harmon has a track record of delivering results. Today, she brings that background in support of RingCentral partners by building a culture of excellence within the channel marketing organization and advocating for partner interests within the company.
Her leadership philosophy is to balance innovative risk and the need for discipline, standards and consistency. This is achieved by hiring great people, giving them the tools they need to succeed and then getting out of the way to let them shine.
Harmon is a proud sixth-generation Californian who graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, has lived in the UK and currently calls Denver home.
Learn more about how RingCentral supports diversity, inclusion and equity at https://www.ringcentral.com/diversity.html.