Nice, Abnormal Security, Google Cloud, Oracle, Microsoft and Peraton were among the tech companies making key executive hires and moves in January 2025.
A new Nice CEO, a new Abnormal Security CFO and new chief operating officer at Google Cloud were among the biggest executive moves in the earliest days of 2025.
Taking those top spots, respectively, were Scott Russell, formerly with SAP; Lisa Banks, formerly with SpotOn; and Francis deSouza, formerly with Illumina.
[RELATED: 30 Notable IT Executive Moves: December 2024]
January Tech Executive Moves
Oracle, Microsoft and Peraton were among other tech giants to make significant executive moves during the month as companies invested in talent for overseeing sales, technology and partners.
Those executives were:
- Shari Mitchell, formerly of Okta
- Mario Zeng, formerly of Lenovo
- Krista Yager, formerly of National Government Services
New hiring data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics come out Friday, with economists expecting job gains to slow to pre-pandemic levels, according to CNN. Consensus estimates are for a net gain of 170,000 jobs with unemployment at 4.1 percent.
Read on for more of the 30 notable IT executive moves in January 2025.
Fred Voccola
In January, Kaseya CEO Fred Voccola transitioned to the role of vice chairman.
Voccola joined the Miami-based solution provider tools provider in 2015, according to his LinkedIn account. He previously spent about two years with Yodle as president and general manager of the Brand Network division. Web.com bought Yodle in 2016.
His resume includes serving as president of Nolio for about a year. CA Technologies bought Nolio in 2013.
Kaseya has about 50,000 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Fazal Merchant
In January, Wiz hired Fazal Merchant as president and CFO.
Merchant joined the New York-based security vendor with a resume that includes about four years with Tanium, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Tanium in 2020 as co-CEO and stayed on as a board member until 2022.
His resume includes about two years with DreamWorks, leaving in 2016 as CFO. Comcast bought DreamWorks that year.
Wiz has about 400 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Francis deSouza
Francis deSouza became Google Cloud’s chief operating officer in January.
DeSouza joined the Mountain View, Calif.-based vendor with a resume that included more than 10 years with Illumina, about seven of those years as CEO, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes more than seven years with Symantec, leaving in 2013 as president of products and services. Broadcom acquired Symantec in 2019.
According to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs, Google said that it is working to enable partners to develop an AI strategy and sell AI solutions, improve partner technical skills and increase the amount of professional services going through partners.
Mario Zeng
Mario Zeng became vice president of hardware system engineering at Microsoft in January.
Zeng joined the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant after about 17 years with Lenovo, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Lenovo with the title of vice president and general manager.
His resume includes about four years with Asus, leaving the company in 2007.
Microsoft has about 400,000 channel partners worldwide and is working to increase the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel, enable partners to develop an AI strategy and sell AI solutions and improve partner profitability, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Scott Russell
Scott Russell became CEO of Nice in January, succeeding Barak Eilam.
Russell joined the Hoboken, N.J.-based contact center and customer service software provider after about 15 years with SAP, according to his LinkedIn account. He left SAP with the title of chief revenue officer.
His resume includes about 11 years with IBM. He left the vendor with the title of partner.
Nice has a partner program for solution partners, global system integrators, services partners and other partner business models.
Kristie Grinnell
Kristie Grinnell became executive vice president and chief information officer of TD Synnex in January.
Grinnell came to the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor after about three years with DXC Technology, according to her LinkedIn account. She left DXC with the title of senior vice president and CIO.
Her resume includes about six years with General Dynamics IT. She left the solution provider with the title of global CIO and chief supply chain officer.
According to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs, TD Synnex is working to increase the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel, enable partners to develop an AI strategy and sell AI solutions plus increase the amount of professional services going through partners.
Lisa Banks
Abnormal Security brought on a new CFO in January–Lisa Banks.
Banks joined the Las Vegas-based security vendor after about three years with SpotOn, according to her LinkedIn account. She left SpotOn with the CFO title.
Her resume includes about seven years with ServiceNow. She left the vendor in 2021 with the title of senior vice president of finance for investor relations, financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and operational excellence.
Abnormal Security has about 460 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Farhan Ahmad
In January, Intel hired Farhan Ahmad as its CFO of the Client Computing Group (CCG).
Ahmad joined the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker after about two years with Enovix, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Enovix with the CFO title.
His resume includes about five years with Micron Technology. He left the company in 2023 with the title of vice president and head of investor relations and strategic finance.
According to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs, Intel is working to enable partners to develop an AI strategy and sell AI solutions, improve partner profitability, increase the amount of recurring revenue going through partners.
Shari Mitchell
Shari Mitchell joined Oracle in January, taking on the role of vice president of human capital management (HCM).
Mitchell came to the Austin, Texas-based database and cloud products vendor after about three years with Okta, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Okta with the title of people operations director.
Her resume includes about two years with Cox Automotive. She left Cox in 2022 with the title of organization solutions director.
Oracle’s NetSuite business unit is part of CRN’s 2024 Partner Program Guide.
Krista Yager
Krista Yager became vice president of health care at Peraton in January.
Yager joined the Reston, Va.-based company–No. 23 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about six years with National Government Services. She left NGS with the title of staff vice president and chief digital officer, according to her LinkedIn account.
Her resume includes about two years with Optum. She left the company in 2019 with the title of VP of Optum advisory services.
David Powell
Liongard hired David Powell as its new chief revenue officer in January.
Powell came to the Houston-based MSP attack surface management tools vendor after about two years with Pax8, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Pax8 with the title of vice president of sales strategy.
His resume includes about a year with Evo Security. He left the company in 2023 as CRO.
Liongard has 1,500 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Karl Triebes
Karl Triebes became chief product officer at Ivanti in January.
Triebes came to the South Jordan, Utah-based security tools provider after about a year with Forcepoint, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Forcepoint with the CPO title.
His resume includes about three years with Imperva, leaving in 2024 as senior vice president and general manager of application security.
Ivanti has 2,200 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Larry Meador
Larry Meador joined Cavlo in January, taking on the role of channel chief.
Meador came to the Kitchener, Ontario-based cybersecurity company after about a year as Infima Cybersecurity’s channel chief, according to his LinkedIn account. He served as Infima’s channel chief.
His resume includes about two years with DataStream Cyber Insurance. He left the company in 2023 with the channel chief title.
Brian Duffy
Atlassian brought on Brian Duffy in January as chief revenue officer.
Duffy came to the Sydney-based productivity software vendor after about a year as CEO of SoftwareOne, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about 18 years with SAP. He left the vendor in 2023 with the title of cloud president.
Atlassian is part of CRN’s 2024 Partner Program Guide.
Jeff Mitchell
In January, IGEL welcomed a new chief revenue officer–Jeff Mitchell.
Mitchell joined the Bremen, Germany-based endpoint operating system (OS) provider after about a year as Aisera’s CRO, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about two years as CRO of Nexthink and about seven years with VMware. He left Nexthink in 2023 and left VMware in 2020 with the title of senior vice president and head of worldwide end-user computing (EUC) sales.
IGEL is part of CRN’s 2024 Partner Program Guide.
David Porter
David Porter joined ServiceNow as chief operating officer for the global public sector business.
Porter came to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based business process automation vendor after about eight years with Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Microsoft with the title of senior director of U.S. Air Force and Space Force business.
His resume includes time with the U.S. Army, leaving the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2017.
ServiceNow has about 2,200 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2025 Channel Chiefs.
Les Weibye
Bluum hired a new chief operating officer in January–Les Weibye.
Weibye joined the Phoenix, Ariz.-based company–No. 68 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about five years with C1, according to his LinkedIn account. He left C1 with the title of senior vice president of supply chain and business operations and general manager of refurbished devices.
His resume includes about nine years with Target. He left the retailer in 2019 with the title of director of enterprise sourcing and procurement operations center of excellence (CoE).
Chris Swadish
In January, Chris Swadish became vice president of digital workplace at Zones.
Swadish came to the Auburn, Wash.-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–after about eight years with Softchoice, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Softchoice with the title of hybrid cloud business leader. World Wide Technology is in the process of acquiring Softchoice.
His resume includes more than 14 years with PCM, leaving the company in 2016 with the title of chief technology officer and vice president of solutions and services. Insight Enterprises acquired PCM in 2019.
Roger Byrne
Roger Byrne joined EOS IT Solutions in January, taking on the role of senior vice president of managed services.
Byrne came to the Banbridge, Northern Ireland-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–following about six years with Google and Fitbit, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Google with the title of director for international Fitbit commercial operations. Google bought Fitbit in 2021.
His resume includes about 18 years with Arvato. He left the logistics company in 2018 with the title of commercial director.
Denise Roberts
Denise Roberts came to ThunderCat Technology in January as vice president of human resources.
Roberts joined the Reston, Va.-based company–No. 48 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about two years with The Swift Group, according to her LinkedIn account. She left the company with the title of HR director.
Her resume includes about four years with Hub Group and NonstopDelivery. She left Hub in 2022 with the HR director title. Hub acquired NSD in 2020.
RJ Welsh
RJ Welsh joined Red River in January, taking on the role of vice president of programs.
Welsh came to the Chantilly, Va.-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–after about a year with ECS, according to his LinkedIn account. He left ECS with the title of senior director.
His resume includes about two years with ManTech, leaving in 2024 as executive director of cyber infrastructure development and research (CIDR). He also spent more than 10 years in active duty with the U.S. Army and has served in the Army Reserve.
Dave Wisenteiner
In January, CyrusOne found a new senior vice president and managing director in Dave Wisenteiner.
Wisenteiner joined the Dallas-based company–No. 46 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–
After about a year with Accenture, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Accenture with the title of managing director of the Microsoft Business Group.
His resume includes about 11 years with Microsoft, leaving in 2023 as partner and general manager of the global energy organization.
Timothy Grayson
Timothy Grayson joined Leidos in January, taking on the role of senior vice president and chief architect for the defense systems sector.
Grayson came to Reston, Va.-based company–No. 10 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about three years as special assistant to the secretary of the U.S. Air Force, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about four years with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. He left DARPA in 2022 with the title of Strategic Technology Office (STO) director.
Elaine Donahoe
In January, Elaine Donahoe joined General Dynamics IT as vice president of program execution for the Intelligence and Homeland Security division.
Donahoe came to the Falls Church, Va.-based company––No. 14 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about 16 years with Leidos, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Leidos with the title of strategic program manager.
She started with Leidos in 2009 as a personnel security specialist.
David DeCell
In January, Conduent found a new global vice president for commercial services client partners in David DeCell.
DeCell came to the Florham Park, N.J.-based company–No. 24 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about 10 years on and off with DXC Technology, according to his LinkedIn account. He left DXC with the title of vice president and general manager, working in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) division.
His resume includes about seven years with Accenture. He left the solution provider in 2021 with the title of client account leader (CAL).
Richard Emil
Converge Technology Solutions hired Richard Emil in January, tasking him with the role of vice president of managed services sales.
Emil joined the Gatineau, Québec-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–after about 13 years with Connection, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Connection with the title of managed services VP.
His resume includes about 10 years with Allied Digital and En Pointe. He left Allied in 2011 with the title of service VP. Allied bought En Pointe in 2008.
Brian Yost
In January, GuidePoint Security brought on Brian Yost as vice president of sales.
Yost joined the Herndon, Va.-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–after about five years with Verinext, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Verinext with the title of VP of cybersecurity strategy.
His resume includes about a year with ReliaQuest. He left the company in 2020 with the title of enterprise account executive (AE).
Steve Lewis
Steve Lewis joined DoiT in January as vice president of global enterprise sales.
Lewis came to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–after about three years with Beeline, accordingto his LinkedIn account. He left Beeline with the title of chief revenue officer.
His resume includes about two years with CloudZero, where he served as CRO.
Chris Jones
In January, GTT found a new national vice president of the Americas partner channel–Chris Jones.
In this role, he “will lead GTT’s partner relationships, channel sales, and channel enablement within the advisory (agent) channel to drive revenue and business growth for GTT, its partners, and their customers,” according to a GTT statement.
Jones made the jump to the Arlington, Va.-based company–No. 51 on CRN’s 2024 Solution Provider 500–after about 30 years with AT&T and Cingular Wireless, according to his LinkedIn account. He left AT&T with the title of associate vice president of partner solutions for the company’s Alliance Channel and ACC Business. AT&T Wireless and Cingular merged in 2004.
Earlier in his AT&T career, Jones held “multiple Director and Executive Director roles, focused on mobility for both direct and indirect sales organizations,” according to ACC Business.
Ken Vanden Haute
Ken Vanden Haute became partner and president of Ohio operations for Impact Networking in January.
Vanden Haute joined the Lake Forest, Ill.-based company–a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500–after about 30 years with DEX Imaging and Meritech, according to his LinkedIn account. He left DEX with the title of president of the Midwest region. DEX bought Meritech in 2022.
In 2024, private equity firm Gamut Capital Management teamed up with the family who founded DEX, the Doyles, to acquire the company from Staples, according to a statement.
