Arctic Wolf Hires Channel Veteran Bob Skelley As New Channel Chief

‘There are lots of security tools, but they’re not stopping the cybersecurity risk. We look to solve this with our vendor-neutral platform and concierge security team. It’s really about driving more effectiveness in security operations. It’s a unique value proposition,’ says Bob Skelley, senior vice president of global channels at Arctic Wolf.

Security operations technology developer Arctic Wolf Thursday said it has brought Bob Skelley, a seasoned channel-focused executive, in as its new channel chief.

Skelley joins Arctic Wolf as the company’s new senior vice president of global channels. His hiring comes in the wake of several key growth-focused moves by the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company, including moving last year to a 100 percent channel sales model and in October closing a $200 million funding round that valued Arctic Wolf at $1.3 billion.

For Skelley, who reports to Chief Revenue Officer Nick Schneider, the move to Arctic Wolf is an opportunity to get into the fast-growing security industry.

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“The security space is so important, and its growth is exceptional,” Skelley told CRN.

Skelley said Arctic Wolf has a unique take on the security industry with its security operations technology that provides a “concierge” service to clients.

Arctic Wolf provides managed detection and response via its cloud-native Arctic Wolf Platform. That platform centralizes data and telemetry into the company’s own cloud-native platform to enable 24x7 monitoring and provide on-demand access to security professionals.

There is certainly no lack of security tools available to businesses, Skelley said. He said there are 3,000 security vendors, but cited a Verizon study that estimated there were nearly 4,000 confirmed data breaches so far this year.

“There are lots of security tools, but they’re not stopping the cybersecurity risk,” he said. “We look to solve this with our vendor-neutral platform and concierge security team. It’s really about driving more effectiveness in security operations. It’s a unique value proposition.”

Skelley most recently served as the CEO of The Channel Company, a position he held from January, 2018, until this past June. He was the company’s vice president and general manager of marketing services prior to that. The Channel Company is the parent of CRN.

He also previously spent seven years at Dell Technologies, joining the company as a channel executive in 2008 when Dell acquired EqualLogic. At Dell, where he most recently served as executive director of North American channel sales, he helped the company move away from its roots as a direct sales organization to one that embraced the channel.

The hiring of Skelley is an exciting move for Arctic Wolf, said Scott Winslow, president of Winslow Technology Group, a Boston-based solution provider and Arctic Wolf channel partner. Winslow has known Skelley for years, dating back to Skelley’s days at Dell.

“[Skelley’s] a great resource for partners,” he said. “He has a great understanding of the partner community, and great international and U.S. channel experience. He will be a real asset for Arctic Wolf.”

Arctic Wolf already has a great channel team, including Will Briggs, Winslow said. Briggs will work under Skelley as vice president of Americas channels and program at Arctic Wolf.

“Now add [Skelley], who has large company experience and international experience,” he said. “His big-customer-focused mentality will add a lot to Arctic Wolf.”

Going forward, Skelley said, he will be looking forward to listening to channel partners for ideas on how to improve Arctic Wolf’s channel program. “I also look forward to bringing our North American success to our international business.”