It was standing room only at the 11th Annual Women in the Channel Networking & Enrichment event March 15 at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. More than 200 women and men packed the conference room at the Venetian Hotel to hear an all-star panel of channel executives discuss the big payoff for companies that invest in gender diverse leadership.
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In WiC’s signature style, the sold-out event kicked off with a networking reception where WiC members and invited guests rekindled connections and made new ones. The energy in the room was matched by the upbeat playlist of DJ Dominic Antonini, president of Telecom Brokers.
WiC Board Members Rebecca Rosen, president of Sales Enabled, and Bita Milanian, senior vice president of global marketing for GENBAND, hosted the evening’s program, beginning with a preview of the Channel Partners event from its Content Director Art Wittmann and panel of female leaders from WiC’s top sponsors, including MicroCorp, AT&T Partner Exchange, Telarus and Time Warner Cable Business Class.
WiC’s new president, Hilary Gadda, director of the Telepartner channel for TelePacific Communications, welcomed members and guests. She highlighted WiC’s achievements, including the relaunch of its website, the introduction of the Outreach Program for alliances with associations and schools, as well as the success of the year-old Angel Program in on-boarding new members. The Angel Program’s management team, aka The A-Team, reported that 150 new members had been inducted in the last year.
Summing up WiC’s momentum, Gadda quoted cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. “
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The evening’s main event was a spirited discussion among a gender-diverse group of channel leaders on the benefits of women in leadership roles. Hosted by WiC Founder and Past President Nancy Ridge, executive vice president for Telecom Brokers, the panel included:
- Dick Jalkut, President and CEO, TelePacific Communications
- Brooks McCorcle, President, Partner Solutions, AT&T
- Lisa Miller, Senior Vice President, Wholesale & Channel, Level 3
- Patrick Oborn, Co-Founder, Telarus
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WiC also honored the leaders at TelePacific Communications for sponsoring all 11 WiC events in the last six years for grand total of $27,000.
Event sponsors include Diamond Sponsors Channel Partners and Microcorp; Platinum Sponsors AT&T Partner Exchange and Telarus; Gold Sponsors Time Warner Cable Business Class; Silver Sponsors Fusion, GENBAND, iAgent Network, Mitel, NetCarrier, OnSIP, Rackspace, TelePacific Communications, Unitas Global and Vonage; and Raffle Sponsor TSI.
