GuidePoint, Quorum Cyber, Critical Start, Pivot Point Consulting, Thales and Dune Security are among the companies that made significant executive moves last month.
New CEOs at GuidePoint, Quorum Cyber, Critical Start, Pivot Point Consulting, Thales and Dune Security were among the biggest executive moves in the channel in July 2026.
Taking those spots, respectively, were Scott Rachford, formerly of Qualys; Kevin Hanes, formerly of Reveal Security; Francine Geist, formerly of LiveAction Software; Terri LeFort, formerly of Nordic Global; Robert Geckle Jr., formerly of Airbus; and James Alvarez, formerly of Check Point.
[RELATED: 30 Notable IT Executive Moves: June 2026]
June 2026 Tech Executive Moves
VC3, Peak Technologies and CyrusOne were among other tech companies to make significant executive moves during the month as companies invested in talent for overseeing sales, technology and partners. Those executives, respectively, were:
- Tom McAndrew, formerly of Coalfire
- Joe Heel, formerly of Wavelynx
- John Hatem, formerly of ConceptCSI Global Data Center Solutions
Read on for more of the 30 notable IT executive moves in July 2026.
John Hatem
CyrusOne promoted John Hatem to the CEO role in July, succeeding Eric Schwartz.
Hatem has been with the Dallas-based company—No. 53on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—for about 15 years, according to a CyrusOne statement. He most recently served as president, responsible for global sales and procurement plus U.S. design, engineering and construction, according to his LinkedIn account.
CyrusOne named Hatem president in 2025 to create “direct alignment between CyrusOne’s sales organization and its design and construction capabilities, enabling faster response to customer requirements and more efficient project delivery,” according to a statement at the time.
Before joining the solution provider, Hatem served as director of design and construction for the ConceptCSI Global Data Center Solutions construction firm, according to CyrusOne.
Scott Rachford
In July, GuidePoint Security made Scott Rachford its new CEO.
Rachford has been with the Reston, Va.-based company—a member of CRN’s 2026 MSP 500—for about 11 years, previously serving as a partner in the company, according to his LinkedIn account.
He previously worked at Qualys for about eight years, leaving the security vendor in 2016 as vice president of North America.
In that role, he was “responsible for understanding and supporting our customers requirements, effectively delivering executive leadership, territory strategy, account management training, consistent staffing, organizational development, performance management, executive selling, as well as establishing and maintaining strategic partnerships to help expand sales,” according to his LinkedIn account.
Kevin Hanes
Kevin Hanes became CEO of Quorum Cyber in July.
In this role, he “will lead the company’s continued growth, building on Quorum Cyber’s strong foundations while accelerating innovation through AI, global expansion, and trusted human expertise,” according to a company statement.
Hanes joined the Edinburgh, Scotland-based company—No. 361on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after about two years as CEO of Reveal Security, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about two years as CEO of Cybrary, leaving the company in 2023. He also worked at Secureworks for about eight years, leaving as chief operating officer in 2021.
Joe Heel
Peak Technologies made Joe Heel its CEO in July, succeeding Tony Rivers.
Heel joined the Littleton, Mass.-based company—No. 83on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after serving as interim CEO of Wavelynx. Heel, a Wavelynx board member, stepped into the role after the departure of CEO Jay Lawrence. He stepped down from the interim role in March with the appointment of Scott Lordo as Wavelynx CEO, according to a company statement from the time.
His resume includes about nine years with Zebra Technologies, leaving the vendor in 2023 as chief revenue officer and head of services, according to his LinkedIn account.
At Zebra, he was “responsible for $1 billion in services and software P&L as well as $6B revenue with 3,000 employees” and led the “integration of $3.5B merger with Motorola Solutions and transformation of Zebra from a product to a solutions and software company.”
He also worked at IBM for about three years, leaving in 2014 as a vice president of enterprise sales. At IBM, he “oversaw sales of IBM’s entire product and service portfolio to enterprise customers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and US Midwest” and “managed $6 billion in revenue,” according to his LinkedIn account. He “returned to 4 quarters of growth after 9 quarters of decline.”
During the year he spent at Avaya as senior vice president and president of global services, Heel steered the “turnaround of $2.5 billion services P&L business with 8,500 employees including support, repair, professional and managed services” and completed the “integration of Nortel acquisition by Avaya,” according to his LinkedIn account.
Francine Geist
Francine Geist came to Critical Start in July as its new CEO.
The Plano, Texas-based company—No. 420on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—hired Geist after about six years with LiveAction Software, according to her LinkedIn account. As CEO of LiveAction for about three years, she led the company through its 2025 acquisition by BlueCat Networks.
At LiveAction, Geist “drove 300% ARR growth by transforming a perpetual license and maintenance business into a recurring subscription revenue model combined with go-to-market execution” and “improved cash EBITDA from negative to +15% through strategic restructuring and aggressive cost management” as well as “increased dollar retention from 70% GRR to 91% and NRR to 119%, demonstrating enhanced customer loyalty and revenue stability” among other accomplishments, according to her LinkedIn account.
Terri LeFort
Terri LeFort took on the top job at healthcare-focused MSP Pivot Point Consulting in July.
As CEO, LeFort “will lead the company through its next phase of growth, further expanding capabilities and impact across the healthcare ecosystem while building upon the strong foundation established by the firm’s leadership team,” according to a Pivot Point statement.
She joined the Panama City, Fla.-based MSP after more than 20 years with Nordic Global and Healthtech Consultants. She left Nordic as president of its international sales, delivery, and internal operations, according to her LinkedIn account.
LeFort joined Nordic through the 2019 acquisition of Healthtech, which saw her go from a Healthtech partner to president of the division, according to a company statement from the time.
Tom McAndrew
In July, Tom McAndrew joined VC3 as its new CEO.
McAndrew came to the Columbia, S.C.-based company—No. 430on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—after about 20 years with Coalfire, according to his LinkedIn account.
His time with Coalfire culminated in McAndrew’s promotion to CEO in 2018 after previously serving as chief operating officer, according to a company statement from the time.
He also served for 25 years in the U.S. Navy, working across cybersecurity, space, unmanned systems and surface warfare, according to the VC3 statement.
Robert Geckle Jr.
Robert Geckle Jr. became the CEO of Thales’ North America division in July, succeeding Alan Pellegrini, who retired.
In this role, Geckle “will oversee the company’s North American operations and strategy as it experiences continued growth in Canada and the U.S.,” according to a Thales statement.
Geckle joined the Meudon, France-based electrical systems manufacturer after more than 20 years with Airbus, with the last five of those years as chairman and CEO of Airbus’ U.S. Space & Defense business, according to his LinkedIn account.
He started at Airbus in 2005 as an associate general counsel, according to his LinkedIn account. Airbus was known as European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) at the time and rebranded in 2015.
Thales has about 7,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
James Alvarez
Dune Security promoted James Alvarez to the role of CEO in July.
Alvarez has been with the New York-based agentic user risk management products vendor since 2024, according to his LinkedIn account. He previously served as vice president of revenue. In that role, he led “the Sales, Channel, and Customer Success teams in order to drive growth and success amongst all of our customers, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about nine years with Perimeter 81 and Check Point Software Technologies, according to his LinkedIn account. Check Point bought Perimeter 81 in 2023. Alvarez left Check Point in 2024 as area manager for secure access service edge (SASE).
Dune counts among its partners CRN 2026 Solution Provider 500 members Insight, Optiv, CDW, SHI, Presidio, World Wide Technology and ePlus.
Julie Sanford
Microsoft channel executive Julie Sanford moved to Stripe in July, taking on the role of head of global partner marketing.
The former vice president of go-to-market, programs and operations for Microsoft’s Global Partner Solutions (GPS) organization—which serves the Redmond, Wash.-based technology giant’s 500,000-plus channel partners worldwide—updated her LinkedIn account to show her move to South San Francisco, Calif.-based Stripe, which makes online and in-person payment technology.
Sanford is now “responsible for leading the strategy and programs that power Stripe’s partner GTM motion across one of the most complex partner ecosystems in tech — spanning platforms, SIs, technology partnerships, financial partners, and a fast-growing cohort of AI companies.”
Sanford worked at Microsoft for about 20 years, ascending the ranks from group product manager for the Project desktop business to the VP roles she held for about five years. She made CRN’s Channel Chiefs list multiple times.
As Microsoft’s VP of GTM, programs and operations in GPS, Sanford was “responsible for the end-to-end go-to-market strategy, programs, experiences and operations across Microsoft’s commercial ecosystem, empowering partners to build and sell intelligent cloud and intelligent edge solutions at scale that help our customers achieve their business outcomes,” according to her LinkedIn account.
Neil MacDonald
HP promoted longtime executive Neil MacDonald in July to the role of North America commercial channel chief. He succeeds Scott Lannum, who retired.
In this vice president and general manager role, MacDonald is “responsible for the go to market strategy and performance of HP’s Print, Personal Systems, Poly, Services and Solutions in the North American market,” according to his LinkedIn account.
He is also “working closely to developing accelerated growth with our partners within the Corporate, Enterprise, Public Sector, Education, Mid-Market, SME & Consumer Retail sectors.”
MacDonald has been with the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computer maker and its predecessor Hewlett-Packard for about 15 years, according to his LinkedIn account. Hewlett-Packard split into HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in 2015.
Chris Fabes
TD Synnex made Chris Fabes its Canada president in July.
Fabes joined the Fremont, Calif.- and Clearwater, Fla.-based IT distributor after about three years with SHI International, according to his LinkedIn account. He left SHI with the title of vice president and while with the solution provider was “managing a 50-person+ national team executing strategy across Canada’s largest enterprise and public sector clients.”
His resume includes about 15 years with Lenovo, leaving in 2023 as director of worldwide sales and strategy for MSPs, cloud service providers (CSP) and global partners.
In that role, he “built and launched a new Cloud and MSP/MSSP channel framework, including a global program, enablement, system integrations, L&D, sales methodology, and RACI modeling” and “defined a $4B incremental channel by orchestrating a Service & XaaS-focused transformation initiative, impacting 75K partners across NA, LATAM, EMEA, and AP regions, propelling substantial growth,” according to his LinkedIn account.
TD Synnex’s top channel goals this year include enabling partners to develop an AI strategy and sell AI solutions and increasing the amount of recurring revenue going through partners, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Monica Gille
Monica Gille departed Hewlett Packard Enterprise in July.
Gille had been with the Spring, Texas-based servers, networking and storage products vendor for about 26 years, most recently serving as vice president of sales for enterprise and global accounts for about three years, according to her LinkedIn account.
In that role, she was “responsible for Industries accounts in North America representing TOP 500 accounts and covering $7B+ revenue and industry verticals: Health and Lifescience, Telco, Financial Services, Manufacturing, Retail, Energy, Service Providers, T1 and Digital Natives business focused on AI, (and) cloud, edge, Saas SW and services,” according to her LinkedIn account.
HPE’s top channel goals for the year include improving partner technical skills and partner profitability, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Christina Pulley
Christina Pulley jumped to Cyera in July, taking on the role of vice president of North America channels.
Pulley came to the New York-based security software vendor after about eight years with Netskope, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Netskope with the title of VP of channel sales for North America.
Her resume includes about three years with Check Point Software Technologies. She left the security vendor in 2018 as a national channel account manager.
Cyera’s top channel goals for the year include increasing the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel and enabling partners to develop an AI strategy and sell AI solutions, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Vincent Hwang
Vincent Hwang became chief product officer of WatchGuard Technologies in July.
In this role, “he will lead the next phase of WatchGuard’s product evolution, focused on making enterprise-grade protection easier to deploy, manage, and monetize for partners serving the midmarket, while advancing AI-driven capabilities that help MSPs operate and scale more efficiently,” according to a company statement.
Hwang came to the Seattle-based security vendor after about eight years with Fortinet, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Fortinet with the title of vice president of cloud security.
In that role, he led “Fortinet’s cloud strategy, cloud services integration roadmap, and go-to-market execution, delivering consistent high double-digit YoY growths in Fortinet’s cloud business,” according to his LinkedIn account. He also “built and scaled co-build, co-sell, and co-market programs and opportunities across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.”
WatchGuard has about 12,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Brian Lanigan
In July, Commvault brought on a new chief partner officer—Brian Lanigan.
Lanigan joined the Tinton Falls, N.J.-based cyber resilience vendor after about two years with SentinelOne, according to his LinkedIn account. He left SentinelOne with the title of senior vice president and head of its global partner ecosystem.
His resume includes about two years with Lacework, leaving in 2024 as vice president of worldwide channels and alliances. Fortinet acquired Lacework the same year.
Commvault has about 6,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Rajesh Jha
Rajesh Jha officially transitioned to an advisory role at Microsoft in July.
The 35-plus-year veteran of the Redmond, Wash.-based technology giant most recently served as executive vice president of the Experiences + Devices Group, according to his LinkedIn account.
Jha’s roles over the decades include time as corporate vice president of Outlook and Office 365 and executive vice president of Microsoft’s Office Product Group.
Microsoft has about 500,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Mitch Plonski
Mitch Plonski joined NinjaOne in July, taking on the role of senior vice president of global public sector, which includes more than 1,500 state, local and education organizations.
As an SVP, he “will partner closely with government and public sector customers worldwide, helping them simplify IT operations so their teams can focus on additional strategic work,” according to a company statement.
Plonski came to the Austin, Texas-based IT operations platform provider after about a year with Halcyon, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Halcyon with the title of president of federal and enterprise growth.
His resume includes co-founding Shift5 in 2019 as serving as executive vice president for three years and then chief revenue officer until leaving the operational technology (OT) cybersecurity company in 2025.
He also served as a senior duty officer in the White House Situation Room with the National Security Council and held operations and executive management roles at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to a NinjaOne statement. His career started as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.
NinjaOne’s top channel goals for the year include increasing the overall percentage of company revenue that comes through the channel and increasing the amount of recurring revenue going through partners, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Jim Tennant
In July, Jim Tennant joined Quiq, taking on the role of global channel chief.
In this role, he will be “expanding strategic alliances, advisory firms, global systems integrators, distributors, and technology partnerships” and “accelerating partner-sourced and partner-influenced pipeline growth,” according to a company statement.
The Bozeman, Mont.-based agentic AI customer journey platform provider brought on Tennant after he worked at Observe.AI for about three years, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Observe with the title of head of channels and vice president of channels and alliances.
His resume includes about three years with Replicant. He left the contact center AI vendor in 2024 as head and VP of channels.
Rahul Prakash
Rahul Prakash became vice president of product management and general manager of identity security at ServiceNow in July.
Prakash came to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based workflow automation vendor after about 10 years with Microsoft. He left Microsoft with the title of head of product. In that role, he led “the PM team behind Identity features in Microsoft Security Copilot, using Generative AI to drive least-privilege access for every user, workload, and app,” according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about two years with Amazon, leaving in 2016 as a senior product manager working on cloud security, Amazon’s GuardDuty threat detection service and the Amazon Macie data security service, according to his LinkedIn account.
ServiceNow has about 2,200 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
KK Parthasarathy
Salesforce brought on KK Parthasarathy in July as executive vice president of engineering, leading Agentforce, Agentforce Voice, Digital Channels and Service Cloud.
Parthasarathy came to the San Francisco-based enterprise applications vendor after about 28 years with Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Microsoft with the title of corporate vice president.
In that role, he led “the transformation of Microsoft Sentinel into an AI-first Security Analytics Platform, integrating data lake, graph intelligence, and AI-driven orchestration.” He joined Microsoft in 1998 as a software design engineer.
Rudra Mitra
Amazon Web Services hired Rudra Mitra in July as vice president of security services.
Mitra joined the Seattle-based cloud and AI products vendor after about 28 years with Microsoft, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Microsoft with the title of corporate vice president and general manager leading the 700-plus team at Microsoft Security Purview.
In that role, Mitra oversaw “product management, engineering and applied research for the product” and saw Purview revenue grow “at double digits percentage points each year (as) the fastest growing product line for Microsoft Security” becoming “a multi-billion-dollar business for Microsoft” with “100’s of millions of users actively protected each month across 100’s of thousands of organizations,” according to his LinkedIn account.
Mitra joined Microsoft in 1999 as a software engineer working on NetDocs, “which first envisioned Office as a service connected suite,” according to his LinkedIn account. In that role, he “contributed to memory management, multi-threaded client experience, and dev ops systems.”
AWS has more than 140,000 partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs.
Joe Mercurio
Joe Mercurio became chief revenue officer of Thrive in July.
In this role, he “will lead Thrive’s global revenue strategy, overseeing sales, customer success, channel partnerships, and go-to-market initiatives as the company continues its rapid growth and expansion,” according to a company statement.
Mercurio joined the Foxborough, Mass.-based company—a member of CRN’s 2026 MSP 500—after about two years as CRO of ConnectWise, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about eight years with Mimecast. He left the security vendor in 2025 with the title of senior vice president of sales and channel for North America.
Paul Taylor
DXC Technology in July brought on Paul Taylor as president, taking on some of the duties previously held by Raul Fernandez, who continues as DXC CEO.
The president “will lead DXC’s global operating business with end-to-end responsibility for customer growth, commercial execution, operational performance, profitability, and delivery across the company’s approximately $13 billion business, with commercial accountability across both DXC’s Core and Fast Track strategies,” according to a company statement.
The Ashburn, Va.-based company—No.16on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—hired Taylor after he led Hub, an asset manager operating platform provider he founded, for about five years as CEO, according to his LinkedIn account. He led Hub through its acquisition by OSTTRA in May.
His resume includes about seven years with IHS Markit, leaving in 2021 as a partner.
Ranil Fernando
Centrilogic in July brought on Ranil Fernando as its vice president of business applications and global head of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) practice.
In this role, he “will be responsible for advancing the organization’s Business Applications strategy across Microsoft Dynamics 365, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), Oracle NetSuite, JD Edwards, Fusion Applications, and related AI-driven enterprise modernization initiatives,” according to a company statement.
The Mississauga, Ontario-based company—No. 395on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—hired Fernando after he worked at Core Covers for about two years, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Core Covers with the title of global head of IT and digital transformation.
In that role, he “directed enterprise-wide digital transformation for a global spa cover manufacturer, architecting e-commerce strategy, ERP and CRM Implementation, establishing AI/ML adoption programs, and managing vendor partnerships across operations,” according to his LinkedIn account.
Chris Sousa
Omega Systems hired Chris Sousa as its chief operating officer in July.
In this role, Sousa “will lead the company’s operations with a direct focus on customer experience, aligning Omega’s service portfolio and delivery approach to drive stronger outcomes,” according to a company statement.
The Reading, Pa.-based company—a member of CRN’s 2026 MSP 500—recruited Sousa after he worked as the principal consultant at Plaid Consulting for about four years, according to his LinkedIn account. At Plaid, which he founded in 2022, he provided “executive-level advisory services focused on M&A for professional services organizations with a deep focus on Managed IT and Managed Cyber Security Services.”
His resume includes about three years as chief financial officer and head of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at healthcare communications company JPA Health, leaving in 2025. He also worked at Dataprise for about 14 years, leaving in 2022 as CFO, according to his LinkedIn account.
At Dataprise, he was “entrusted with oversight of $40M P&L as Group President and overall financial strategy as CFO of integrated IT services company, with a specific focus on financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and growth via mergers and acquisitions (M&A),” according to his LinkedIn account.
Tom Kirkland
Tom Kirkland returned to CACI International in July, taking on the role of executive vice president of electronic warfare.
Kirkland previously worked at the Reston, Va.-based company—No. 20on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—for about four years. He left in 2020 as vice president of business development for product sales, according to his LinkedIn account.
He returned to CACI after about six years with L3Harris Technologies. He left L3Harris with the title of president of the targeting and sensor systems (TSS) sector. In that role, he “led a global $1B organization delivering advanced intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting solutions across defense, security, first responder, and aerospace markets,” according to his LinkedIn account.
Leila Amiralai
In July, Nucleus Networks hired a new vice president of growth—Leila Amiralai.
Amiralai joined the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company—a member of CRN’s 2026 MSP 500—after about three years with AlertOps, according to her LinkedIn account. She left AlertOps with the title of senior manager of enterprise and channel engagement. In that role, she focused “on expanding channel reach, delivering value through impactful partner programs, and positioning AlertOps as the go-to intelligent alerting and incident response platform.”
Her resume includes about five years with N-able, leaving the cyber resilience vendor in 2023 as senior community manager of partner experience.
Ellen Johnson
Ellen Johnson joined Kyndryl in July, assuming the role of chief financial officer the following month. As CFO, she succeeds Harsh Chugh.
The New York-based company—No. 13on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—recruited Johnson after she worked at Interpublic Group for about 25 years, according to her LinkedIn account. She left IPG as executive vice president and CFO. Omnicom bought IPG last year.
In that IPG role, she “led global Finance organization spanning accounting, FP&A, treasury, tax, M&A, audit, and IR” and “Information Technology, Real Estate, and Corporate Development for the enterprise supporting more than 80 operating units across 100+ countries” for the marketing and ad firm, according to her LinkedIn account.
Priya Jha Choudhary
Wipro promoted Priya Jha Choudhary in July to the role of chief human resources officer of its AI-native business and platforms.
Choudhary has been with the Bengaluru, India-based company—No. 19 on CRN’s 2026 Solution Provider 500—for about four years, according to her LinkedIn account. She previously served as head of HR for the enterprise applications global service line.
In that role, she led an “HR team partnering with 35000+ people across offshore and onsite covering Sales, Delivery, Capabilities and Partnerships” and handled “end to end global HR accountability for Enterprise Applications Service Line, 1 of the 4 Service Lines, at Wipro Technology Services,” which included “SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, ServiceNow, Infor, Digital Experience Practices among others,” according to her LinkedIn account.
Her resume includes about nine years with Capgemini, leaving the solution provider in 2023 as global head of talent and learning for the cloud global business line.
