WatchGuard attracts top Channel Sales and Marketing leadership talent

WatchGuard Technologies has announced three new hires in the senior leadership team in sales and global marketing. These new hires are Derek Maggiacomo, joining from SonicWall as the new vice president of Americas sales; Rich Workman, joining from Sophos as the new vice president of global renewals sales; and Karen Ray, joining from Juniper Networks as the new global vice president of field and partner marketing. Together, this team of industry veterans brings extensive cybersecurity and channel experience that will fortify and accelerate WatchGuard’s mission of becoming the cybersecurity platform of choice for managed service providers (MSPs).

“WatchGuard’s focus on MSPs across every part of our business – from how we architect our products and services, to the people and programs in place for ensuring partner enablement and success – is a major draw for both retaining existing partners and employees and bringing in new ones,” said Prakash Panjwani, CEO of WatchGuard Technologies. “This group of new hires, a dynamic group of channel veterans, brings a wealth of expertise in cybersecurity, partner management, and sales discipline. Most importantly, they share WatchGuard’s partner-first mentality. I’m thrilled to welcome these channel leaders to WatchGuard, who will help both our company and our partners continue to achieve sustainable growth now and in the future.”

Derek Maggiacomo, vice president of Americas sales

Derek Maggiacomo brings over 20 years of experience working with partners in the networking and security industry. He’s grown and scaled sales teams throughout his career, with a focus toward enabling partners to be successful. Most recently, Derek led the North America sales team at SonicWall. Prior to that, Derek helped build and run Juniper Networks’ U.S. channel presence. He specialises in managing complex partner relationships as well as recruiting and onboarding new partners to vendors. 

“WatchGuard is well-known for its commitment to partners, and I look forward to bringing my experience and passion for the channel to the WatchGuard team,” said Maggiacomo. “I couldn’t be more impressed with this smart and innovative team, and with the power and maturity of WatchGuard’s Unified Security Platform. It is exactly what MSPs need to expand their cybersecurity services business and gain more market share.”

“Derek will officially join WatchGuard in August, bolstering an already powerful Americas leadership team,” said HoJin Kim, WatchGuard senior vice president and chief revenue officer. “Chris Wachel, regional vice president of North America, and Richard Fortes, regional vice president of Latin America, have spent 6 and 10 years, respectively, building strong relationships with partners across the region, and together with Derek are primed to take WatchGuard’s Americas business to the next level.”

Rich Workman, global vice president of renewals sales

Rich Workman has more than 20 years of professional sales and leadership experience, predominantly in channel-focused cybersecurity. He specialises in developing and implementing strategies that empower the channel (MSPs and MSSPs) to drive rapid sales growth in two-tier distribution models by delivering best-in-class security outcomes for their customers. Rich joins WatchGuard from Sophos, where he spent 15 years in a variety of sales leadership roles, running teams with focuses spanning large enterprise, public sector, midmarket, and small business sales. Under his guidance, Rich’s teams exceeded ambitious growth and profitability targets every step of the way. 

“I’m thoroughly impressed by WatchGuard’s unwavering and long-term commitment to the channel, particularly in how the company has truly brought simplified enterprise-grade cybersecurity to MSPs. Many companies aspire to simplify security, but WatchGuard has dedicated the resources and commitment to do it,” said Workman.

Karen Ray, global vice president of field and partner marketing

Karen Ray joins WatchGuard with more than 20 years of field and partner marketing and demand generation expertise. Karen held a variety of senior roles in channel marketing at Juniper Networks, and most recently was the vice president of global field and partner marketing. Prior to Juniper, she held senior-level roles in marketing and product management at Ingram Micro. She is adept in developing and strengthening strategic alliances and partnerships by identifying growth opportunities and executing integrated sales and marketing campaigns that result in bottom-line revenue growth.

“At other companies, the channel can often become an afterthought, but not at WatchGuard. It’s refreshing to join a company where everyone has such a deep understanding of the channel. The WatchGuard team knows what drives MSPs and how to enable their businesses to grow and thrive,” said Ray.