NetApp Appoints New Channel Chief

NetApp has quietly appointed an insider to take over its channel chief position, CRN has learned.

Peter Howard, vice president of global channel sales and an eight-year NetApp veteran, is taking over the helm of NetApp's channel efforts going forward.

Howard on May 1 took the reins from Todd Palmer, former NetApp vice president of American channels, who last month took over as head of worldwide sales at Endace, a network traffic recording and sniffing vendor acquired by Emulex.

[Related: NetApp Lays Out All-Flash Storage Array Strategy ]

Mark Teter, CTO of Advanced Systems Group, a Denver-based solution provider and NetApp partner, said Howard has had a good tenure at NetApp.

"I'm excited to see him in that new role," Teter said. "He's been a good friend of the channel and a passionate businessman."

Howard in the past was in charge of running herd on new initiatives, Teter said. "When something needed jump-starting, he jumped on it," he said. "He did a lot of channel interaction, and has been great on a personal level."

Howard inherits a strong channel legacy at NetApp. Over 80 percent of NetApp's sales come via indirect channels.

One of NetApp's biggest new initiatives for 2013 is flash storage. NetApp in February unveiled its all-flash storage array strategy based on its new FlashRay architecture for both block and file storage.

Howard was unavailable to comment on his new role at NetApp.

PUBLISHED ON JUNE 10, 2013