FalconStor Appoints New Channel VP

FalconStor this week said Brendan Kinkade is its new vice president of channel management and global alliances, where he reports to Jim McNiel, interim president and interim CEO of the Melville, N.Y.-based storage vendor.

Kinkade steps up to his new role in a company rocked by the resignation of founder and former President, CEO, and Chairman ReiJane Huai in September following his disclosure that certain improper payments were allegedly made in connection with a customer contract.

Kinkade has been with FalconStor since 2008 as vice president of global alliances, and prior to that he worked with the company for a year as a channel consultant.

Prior to taking the channel management role, Kinkade said, he has been calling on partners for some time as part of a program to cement ties with strategic partners such as VMware and Hitachi Data Systems, the latter of which bundles FalconStor's deduplication technology with its modular storage arrays.

"A lot of what I've been doing is building strategic alliances for our go-to-market strategies," he said. "I've been working with global partners to bring solutions to the market."

In his new role, Kinkade said he looks forward to improving FalconStor's channel programs and processes.

Early next year, he said, FalconStor will offer a new partner portal and an enhanced channel program with new benefits. "We'll have new certification goals which will be tied to training of partners," he said. "A partner who is educated and knowledgeable about your technology is more committed."

FalconStor is also in the process of establishing its first partner advisory council, with the list of participating partners yet to be finalized, Kinkade said. "The invitations have already been sent out," he said.

Kinkade is a good choice for managing FalconStor's channels, said Greg Knieriemen, vice president of marketing at Chi, a Cleveland-based solution provider and long-time FalconStor partner.

"Brendon's not just good, he's great," Knieriemen said. "He understands the channel, works with the channel, breathes the channel."

Kinkade has also shown a natural instinct for the channel not only at FalconStor but at his former employer, storage vendor Nexsan, Knieriemen said.

"He's a no-nonsense guy," he said. "He really executes. When he puts a channel program into place, he follows through."