Channel Futures Introduces Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Industry Advisory Board Members to Propel New DE&I Network

By STS News Desk On Apr 14, 2021

Balihoo Welcomes Brian Heppner as Vice President of Sales

Channel Futures, a media and events platform serving companies in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) channel industry, is bringing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion to the boardroom. To help the technology and communications industry leaders meet and exceed the challenges of creating diverse, equitable and inclusive teams and organizations, Channel Futures has assembled a group of prominent executives to serve as founding members of the Channel Futures DE&I Advisory Board.

The board will serve to strategically guide the new Channel Futures Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Network, one of the technology industry’s largest efforts toward fostering true industry diversity. The DE&I platform has been built to provide tools and insight into how diversity, equity and inclusion can improve organizational performance while boosting team engagement and productivity, resulting in a more positive corporate culture.

Channel Futures supports the channel community we serve. We have an obligation to use our platform to bring the community together, share best practices and detail successful business outcomes that a diverse workforce can help create.” ~ Kelly Danziger, General Manager, Informa Tech Channels

Among today’s announcements, Channel Futures is introducing the founding board members for the initiative and opening the platform to technology vendor companies to provide them with an opportunity to actively demonstrate their support through sponsorship and participation so they can help make a difference in the IT industry.

“Channel Futures is here to support the channel community we serve. We have an obligation to use our platform to bring the community together, to share best practices and detail successful business outcomes that a diverse workforce can help create,” says Kelly Danziger, General Manager, Informa Tech Channels. “The online community group, ongoing workshops and live events are venues that welcome and celebrate diversity and help business leaders develop more inclusive work environments.”

The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Industry Advisory Board

Channel Futures is honored to announce that channel leaders, including managed service providers, tech and telecom suppliers, agents, master agents, IT vendors and distributors, have committed to helping this important industry effort by becoming DE&I Advisory Board Members. In this role, they will provide strategic guidance on our content, direction and deliverables to the industry. Our founding DE&I Advisory Board Members are:

Dany Bouchedid, CEO at COLOTRAQ
Narine Galstian, Chief Marketing Officer at SADA Systems
Brandon Knight, Vice President for Advanced Services – Contact Center at Telarus
Sarah Marsh, Director of Channel Enablement and Strategy at Verizon Business Group
Jayson Pryce, Channel Development Manager at Datto
Mayka Rosales-Peterson, Channel Strategy Manager at Telesystem
Reggie Scales, Executive Vice President & GM for the Application Group, Americas & APAC at Vonage
Orkideh Shahidi, Vice President for People Operations at SADA Systems
Marcial Velez, CEO & Founder at Xperteks
Phillip Walker, Customer Advocate CEO at Network Solutions Provider
Raquel Wiley, Senior Channel Marketing Manager at TPx

“I look forward to working with my fellow members to increase awareness and create actionable plans that will empower individuals as well as organizations to successfully develop DEI programs that align with their companies’ missions,” says Velez.

“In a time where there is a lot of talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion, I am proud and honored to be on this world-class board with some of our industry’s biggest thought leaders to create actionable plans and initiatives to transform that conversation into actual change. I have no doubt that a concerted focus on DE&I will not only help companies within our industry thrive but also elevate the whole industry,” says Bouchedid.

Diversity, equity and inclusion has captivated much of the nation’s discourse over the past few years with technology and telecommunications channel leaders seriously focusing on the topic and looking for ways to become more diverse and inclusive in their hiring and promotion practices. They want to understand how diversity within their workplaces can improve business results. Those results can be staggering. A recent diversity study by McKinsey & Company, for example, found that companies ranking in the top quartile for executive team gender diversity were 25 percent more likely to demonstrate “above-average profitability” than companies in the bottom quartile.

Executive team ethnic diversity differences showed even stronger results. Those companies ranking in the top quartile for executive team ethnic diversity were 36 percent more likely to demonstrate “above-average profitability” than companies in the bottom quartile. In addition, a Boston Consulting Group study found that companies with more diverse management teams achieve 19 percent higher revenues due to innovation, further proof that diversity is not just a metric to be strived for, but an integral part of a successful revenue-generating business.

The Channel Futures DE&I Network

The purpose of the new Channel Futures Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Network is to help industry participants learn why passive approaches to diversity are destined to fail and how instead to develop and nurture proactive strategies to foster diverse viewpoints and perspectives. The network will dive deeply into why such programs are needed, how channel organizations can develop their own diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, and how results can be communicated to shareholders, senior leaders and boards. Our channel-focused Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Network includes:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategies for Channel Success Workshops. Featuring subject matter experts, keynote speakers, panels and insight focused on improving business results through proactive diversity, equity and inclusion management practices.
The Channel Futures Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 101 Recognition. Recognizing individuals from diverse and multicultural backgrounds who are changing the face of the telco/cable and IT industry through their words, actions and leadership.
State of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Market Research. Surveying organizations’ diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, and their challenges building diverse teams and inclusive organizations. Research results will help leaders understand where their businesses stand in relationship to the broader channel landscape.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Channel Partners Conference & Expo and The MSP Summit. Face-to-face networking gatherings, panel discussions and award recognitions integrating our diversity, equity and inclusion offerings with the opportunity to connect with peers to share best practices.
Channel Futures Dedicated Media Coverage. Documenting all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives by our editorial team with analysis, commentary, research, news and actionable information.
The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Community on Channel Futures. Enabling our audience to share their views on diversity, equity, and inclusion business strategies, comment on top stories and connect with channel leaders.

Write in to psen@itechseries.com to learn more about our exclusive editorial packages and programs.