Company Summary:
Company Name: WatchGuard
Website: www.watchguard.com
Year Founded: 1996
Channel Leader Executive: Michelle Welch
Current Role: Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President
Start Date: 05/04/2015
Years in the Channel: 18.5
Highest Ranking Channel Executive: Yes
Reports to: Prakash Panjwani, CEO
Channel Leader Biography:
Michelle Welch joined WatchGuard in 2015 as the Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President. She is responsible for shaping the company’s growth and transformation initiatives. In her role, Michelle oversees the development and execution of WatchGuard’s global marketing strategy and channel operations. She has nearly 20 years of experience in security-focused B2B marketing.
Top Services/Products Sold Through the Channel:
(Information not provided)
Top Channel Accomplishments:
Oversaw expansion and modernization of demand generation activities
Created a BDR team for out-bounding new business opportunities
Spearheaded platform integration initiatives for WatchGuard’s Unified Security Platform
Expanded subscription billing and introduced new partner portal
Invested significantly in channel marketing and support
Largest Channel Challenge in 2023:
Finding the right ways to work with a broad range of MSPs to build or rebuild the managed security stack for their businesses.
Expected Channel Growth in 2023:
Expecting to grow by 10% to 20%.
Expected MDF Growth:
Marketing funds, MDF, and COOP will grow in alignment with company revenue.
Top Channel Goals for 2023:
Add more qualified partners.
Increase the amount of recurring revenue through partners.
Increase cross-sell activities across the security platform with an increase in partner certifications.
MSP Advisory Board:
WatchGuard has two Partner Advisory Councils (PACs), one for North American partners and another for European partners.
MSP Focus Group:
The company utilizes PAC for partner feedback on various topics and also has a group of Beta testers for product releases.
Importance of MSPs:
MSPs are extremely important to WatchGuard, with a 100% focus on the MSP channel.
Future Plans as a ForzaDash Channel Leader 2023:
If selected, Michelle Welch will use the acknowledgment to advocate for the channel community, highlight the growing role of MSPs in cybersecurity, and expand the company’s networking reach.
