This list was conceived to put a spotlight on the professionals driving one of the most important customer segments in the industry today. These executives were nominated by peers, colleagues, customers and partners because of the strong relationships they have built with midmarket customers, for their leadership, strategic thinking and solution excellence they demonstrate. Valentine was also named a “top disrupter,” a listing of the 25 executives who shook up the IT industry this year.

Kris Hagerman, chief executive officer for Sophos, said, “Mike has been with Sophos for less than a year, but he’s already making an enormous impact. As the architect and driver of our “Channel First” sales strategy, Mike has enabled Sophos to make major strides to work better and more closely with the channel than ever before. Mike is well-known by the channel as a great leader, recruiter and winner. We’re thrilled to have Mike at Sophos leading our global sales team, and this validation from CRN and our partners provides added evidence that we’ve become the leading choice for delivering complete IT security without complexity.”

Commentary from the Sophos Channel
“Our partnership with Sophos allows us to provide comprehensive security solutions for clients, datacenters, and the cloud. We are excited about the leadership and direction Mike brings to Sophos,” said Stephen Perciballi, Security Category Leader, Datacenter Group, Softchoice.

“Sophos’ commitment to the channel is impressive. It has an outstanding partner program and excellent IT security value proposition with award-winning security solutions that are simple to implement and simple to use. Combined with its determination to help partners like us grow our business, Sophos is delivering on his channel first promise,” said Jez Turner, Sales Director, Foursys. Foursys is a specialist in IT security solutions, with over 16 years’ experience and more than 900 customers in the UK.