Network access and automation provider Opengear has announced the appointment of Mark Hughes as its new channel manager for EMEA.
The move will see Hughes spearhead Opengear’s growth and channel expansion across the region, with the aim of recruiting five to six resellers in each of its key markets. The firm said this effort is designed to reinforce its EMEA presence and increase its core, strategic channel community to 50.
In his new position, Hughes will work closely with Exclusive Networks, a value-added distributer (VAD) that has covered southern Europe for Opengear since 2019. The relationship has also recently been expanded to include the DACH region, as well as the UK as of January.
“I’m delighted to be joining such a successful company and I’m looking forward to helping the business grow further both by developing our existing network and by connecting with and onboarding new channel members,” Hughes commented.
“My focus will be on building a close-knit, value added channel community, and developing relationships based on loyalty and mutual understanding to benefit all parties including the end customer.”
Hughes brings a wealth of experience in working with, recruiting and enabling channel members in the out-of-band and IT infrastructure markets.
Before taking the role at Opengear, he was the EMEA partner manager for Out-of-Band remote network management products at Lantronix. Prior to that, he spent six years as global partner development manager at Hitachi Data Systems and seven years as channel development manager at IBM.
Hughes joins Opengear - which specialises in delivering access and automation to critical IT infrastructure - at a time when the business is already experiencing strong growth in the EMEA region, it said.
“We are looking to take business growth to the next level in EMEA by creating a structured distribution and reseller channel,” said Alan Stewart-Brown, VP EMEA at Opengear. “Mark’s extensive industry connections and his in-depth experience and expertise both in business development and in building dynamic fast-growth channel and partner networks across the region make him ideally suited for this role.”
