These are the men and women who are pushing boundaries and turning the IT market on its ear.
The Top 25 Disrupters of 2026 have answered the call from partners and customers to help organizations improve efficiency, accelerate innovation and modernize their IT environments.
Whether it’s helping customers and partners harness the power of artificial intelligence, strengthening cyber resilience against an evolving threat landscape, or driving new opportunities around cloud, data and infrastructure, these 25 executives have stepped up to meet some of the market’s most pressing challenges. In doing so, they have helped expand growth opportunities for solution provider partners while reshaping how technology is delivered and consumed.
This year’s No. 1 disrupter is OpenAI’s Colleen Kapase, who helped launch the company’s inaugural OpenAI Partner Network that went live in July. Under her leadership, OpenAI is seeking to train 300,000 certified OpenAI consultants by the end of 2026.
What follows is our list of the Top 25 Technology Disrupters of 2026.
Be sure to also check out the complete list of CRN’s Top 100 Executives of 2026.
25. Matthew Rathbun
Sr. Director, Channel Sales
CyberPower
Rathbun is dedicated to helping channel partners disrupt the data center power industry with technology to help them manage thousands of distributed UPS systems via its PowerPanel Cloud Pro cloud monitoring platform that provides unlimited node monitoring, Azure-based single sign-on, hierarchical customer and location management, and flexible licensing. His team also ensures complex UPS opportunities are led by partners.
24. Peter and Matthew Cassar
Co-Founders, Co-CEOs
Sherweb
The Cassar brothers have transformed Sherweb into a leading cloud marketplace and MSP enablement platform. Through investments in cloud, cybersecurity, Microsoft expertise and partner services, they have helped MSPs expand recurring revenue while simplifying the delivery of modern managed services across North America.
23. Joseph Landes
CRO
Nerdio
Landes has expanded Nerdio’s reputation as a Microsoft partner growth engine with new capabilities around the tech giant’s portfolio, including finding ways to make Intune friendly to solution providers while exposing new revenue opportunities in end-user computing.
22. Bruce McCully
Chairperson of the Board
Galactic Advisors
McCully has helped position Galactic Advisors as a strategic cybersecurity partner for MSPs through a comprehensive approach combining assessments, compliance, training and security operations. His leadership emphasizes practical, repeatable security programs that enable partners to reduce risk while growing trusted advisory relationships with customers.
21. Jonathan McCormick
COO
Intermedia
Intermedia’s COO is a leader in equipping partners to deliver greater value, speed and profitability with 19 years of experience at Intermedia with a partner-first strategy. McCormick has led the evolution of the company’s partner strategy, including expanding service provider enablement, accelerating AI monetization across partner paths, and strengthening collaboration across sales, marketing and product teams.
20. Peter Klanian
SVP, North America Sales
Vertiv
Vertiv wants to disrupt a data center cooling and power business that is rapidly changing in the face of demand for ever-more infrastructure to meet AI requirements. Klanian is charged with helping channel partners bring new modular liquid cooling infrastructure, expanded cooling distribution units, global liquid cooling services, and new chiller technologies to businesses to meet the AI challenges.
19. Kevin Rooney
VP, Americas Channel Sales
Veeam Software
While Veeam continues to grow in the face of a very competitive data protection, resiliency and management market, Rooney and his team lead channel partners to disrupt not only the competition but also the status quo, which continues to be a lack of urgency among customers to understand the risks to their data from AI and ransomware attacks.
18. Manny Rivelo
CEO
ConnectWise
Rivelo has led ConnectWise through a major platform transformation centered on cybersecurity, automation and AI. By expanding integrated offerings and deepening support for MSPs, he has strengthened the company’s ability to help partners improve operational efficiency, protect customers and scale profitable managed services practices.
17. Craig Patterson
Global Channel, Ecosystem Chief
Exabeam
Through Patterson’s channel leadership, Exabeam has been doubling down on partner profitability, including with a recent shift to a new discount strategy for partners in connection with the SIEM vendor’s Apex Partner Program. The vendor also rolled out a new AI-powered tool, Exabeam Sherpa, which can answer partner questions about Exabeam products.
16. Dheeraj Pandey
Co-Founder, CEO
DevRev
Pandey, who co-founded Nutanix and built it into a hyperconverged channel powerhouse, has brought his engineering talents to the AI market with DevRev. Under Pandey’s leadership, the company has developed a groundbreaking conversational AI “Computer” that unifies all of a company’s structured/unstructured data backed up with a robust partner program.
15. Bob Skelley
VP, Channel Strategy, Programs Development
Arctic Wolf
As part of the channel program led by Skelley, Arctic Wolf unveiled a revamped MSP program along with an MSP-focused version of its endpoint security offering. Key updates to the MSP program include progressive volume pricing, with better rates for MSPs as their total business grows with Arctic Wolf.
14. Michelle Ragusa-McBain
Global Channel Chief, VP, Channel Sales
Corero Network Security
At Corero Network Security, Ragusa-McBain has taken on building the company’s first formal and strategic partner program, with a focus on targeting leading solution providers and MSPs. Key priorities have included driving growth in the channel for Corero’s DDoS mitigation technology as well as educating partners about gaps in existing security architectures.
13. Kimberly King
Chief Partner Officer
PTC
With AI and automation reshaping industrial organizations, King is focused on helping partners get past the complexities of AI. That includes providing technical enablement, certifications, AI-driven use cases and repeatable solutions that partners can deliver and build on. She is also expanding PTC’s reach through indirect sales motions and strengthening relationships with major systems integrators and hyperscalers.
12. Kyle Hanslovan
Co-Founder, CEO
Huntress
Even after overseeing a massive expansion for the Huntress managed cybersecurity platform, Hanslovan has said that getting ahead of ever-worsening cyberthreats will mean disrupting the very products and playbook that built the vendor’s success. Key strategic moves have included a collaboration with Microsoft that brings Huntress’ products into the tech giant’s online marketplace.
11. Curtiz Gangi
VP, U.S. Channels
TP-Link
The highly respected 30-year-plus channel superstar is making TP-Link a Wi-Fi and networking channel disrupter with new training programs, a beefed-up partner program and a back-to-basics focus on executing in the field with stronger partnerships. Partners say the focus on active engagement is paying off in increased profitability and sales growth.
10. Scott Mann
Global SVP, Sales
StorMagic
Broadcom’s changes to its VMware strategy have opened the door for Mann to bring channel partners StorMagic’s virtualization and edge infrastructure technology, including its SvHCI hyperconverged infrastructure and SvSAN software-defined SAN technology.
9. Sridhar Ramaswamy
CEO
Snowflake Computing
If data is the oil of AI, Ramaswamy’s company promises solution providers untapped reservoirs of value and high-octane growth in the agentic era. Its explosive partner program growth and product innovation have propelled Snowflake from a focus on data warehousing to a full-fledged platform.
8. Jason Mooneyham
Corporate VP, GM, And Head Of Americas Sales
AMD
Mooneyham has the job of working with AMD’s channel partners and OEMs to disrupt the AI infrastructure dominance of Nvidia. He is armed with a wide range of technologies including AMD Instinct GPU accelerators to attack the core of the AI business, along with strong server and AI PC CPUs and AI infrastructure platforms to fill out its strategy.
7. Scott Chasin
CEO
Pax8
Chasin has accelerated Pax8’s vision of redefining the partner experience through AI-powered marketplace innovation and partner enablement. His leadership has expanded platform capabilities, simplified cloud commerce and strengthened Pax8’s role as a strategic growth engine for MSPs building modern, recurring revenue businesses.
6. Jeremiah Jenson
VP, North America Channel, Partner Ecosystem
HPE
Partners credit Jenson, a 21-year channel veteran who rejoined HPE a year ago after nearly seven years at AWS, with driving a channel renaissance with his razor-sharp focus on forging tighter partnerships in the field. Partners say Jenson’s sales leadership has inspired them to invest in new HPE sales and technical resources.
5. Dan and Michael Schwab
Co-Presidents
D&H Distributing
The distribution powerhouses continue to drive the “people- and customer-first” culture established by their father, the late legendary distribution icon Izzy, to new heights. The two leaders have taken D&H well beyond its SMB roots into the enterprise market where it is building game-changing partnerships including expanded recent alliances with Dell Technologies and Fortinet.
4. Michael DePalma
VP, Business Development
OpenText Cybersecurity
At OpenText Cybersecurity, DePalma has brought an approach focused on enabling MSPs to keep up with the AI capabilities of today while staying nimble for future developments. DePalma has brought a particular emphasis on working with MSPs to stay current with the changes in AI and security in order to adapt quickly.
3. Steve Corfield
Head Of Global Business Development, Partnerships
Anthropic
Corfield is capping a banner first year building out a partner program for the AI era at one of the most consequential startups of the agentic era. Anthropic’s channel chief leverages years of enterprise technology expertise to equip partners and transform AI innovation into customer business outcomes.
2. Anil Varanasi
Co-Founder, CEO
Meter
Varanasi is driving a next-generation Networking-as-a-Service revolution with his company’s $100 million partner fund and 100 percent channel model. The natural-born disrupter, in fact, has done the impossible: making next-generation networking profitable for partners and affordable for customers.
1. Colleen Kapase
VP, Strategic Global Partners, Ecosystems
OpenAI
If there is one company that solution providers need to know about in 2026, it’s OpenAI, which nabbed one of the world’s most popular channel champions to lead its efforts in Colleen Kapase. Kapase was Google Cloud’s former global head of partner programs who led the development and rollout of Google Cloud’s new flagship partner program, the Google Cloud Partner Network, this year.
OpenAI hiring such a top channel leader who’s built and grown partner ecosystems, including for Snowflake, Google, VMware and Citrix over the years, shows the AI startup’s channel hopes for the future.
She quickly hit the ground running at OpenAI, launching the company’s inaugural OpenAI Partner Network that went live in July.
With leadership from Kapase, OpenAI is seeking to train 300,000 certified OpenAI consultants by the end of 2026.
OpenAI’s inaugural partner program is a three-tier program with specializations, such as OpenAI Codex, with an up-front $150 million channel investment from the company.
“The [$150 million] is going to be used for enablement, for service delivery, cost offsetting, for MDF funds, etc.,” Kapase said. “There’s an alignment across our entire leadership that partners are important, we need them, and the $150 million is a signal to our partners of our investment in them.”
Kapase is taking her decades of channel success to OpenAI to lead the AI startup’s channel push, earning her the No. 1 spot on CRN’s Disrupters list.
