This year’s CRN Channel Chiefs list includes partner executives from Azul to Delinea, Foxit, GoTo, LastPass, Acronis and JFrog.
The respected channel news publication curates the list of 50 global vendor and distie leaders every year. It’s based on CRN’s review of their partner successes.
For one, the list recognised Kara Trovato, vice president of channel sales for privileged access and identities management specialist Delinea.
Chris Kelly, president of go-to-market (GTM) at Delinea, said in an announcement: “When organisations are struggling to manage the growing number of human and non-human identities, Kara has been a north star for our partners.
“Her approach to channel management emphasises long-term partnership growth, ensuring her partners are well equipped to meet evolving customer demands.”
Driving revenues across partner ecosystems
As a result, Trovato had built collaborative and profitable partnerships while championing ‘zero trust’ cybersecurity principles. Zero trust refers to the idea that every connection and contact should be considered suspicious until proven otherwise.
In 2024 Trovato launched several “high-impact partner programmes” that delivered double-digit growth. That included 20% year-on-year growth among Delinea Platinum Partners, the vendor added.
However, Trovato is not the highest ranking channel executive in Delinea. That honour goes to Tim Puccio, senior vice president of global channel and alliances. CRN’s Channel Chiefs list recognised Puccio in 2023.
Foxit’s Dave Ellison also made the global 2025 Channel Chiefs list. In addition, the PDF and editing software vendor’s Paul Jackson made CRN UK’s Channel Leaders EMEA list for 2025.
For a Q&A on channelweb.co.uk, Foxit’s Jackson revealed that he had transitioned the company from direct sales to its 60% indirect channel model over the past year. That included a managed services offering.
In addition, Foxit expanded its channel team from one to 17. Channel revenues hit $30 million (£23m), up from $4m, Jackson said.
Channel leaders with diverse offerings and solutions
Others named CRN Channel Chiefs in 2025 include Simon Taylor from OpenJDK Java alternative Azul, Michael Day of digital access company GoTo Technologies, password management company LastPass, Alex Ruslayakov of cloud cyber-protection firm Acronis, and Elisa Lai of devops software provider JFrog.
“This year’s honorees exemplify dedication, innovation, and leadership that supports solution provider success,” said Jennifer Follett, vice president of US content and CRN executive editor at The Channel Company.
“Each of these exceptional leaders has made a lasting channel impact by championing partnerships and designing creative strategies that get results.”
( Photo by Jelly Dollar on Unsplash )
