Jason Chester, Director of Global Channel Programs at InfinityQS, has been officially named as one of CRN’s 2021 ‘Channel Chiefs’. The prestigious list is released annually to recognise the most prominent IT channel vendor executives who have continually demonstrated outstanding leadership, influence, innovation and growth in their sector.
Channel Chiefs are channel executives who consistently defend, promote and execute effective channel partner programs and strategies. Individuals are selected by CRN’s editors based on their track record of accomplishments, standing in the industry, dedication to the partner community, plans for driving future business innovation and channel growth, and their commitment to current and prospective channel partners.
Jason comments: “It was an incredible honour to have been included as one of CRN’s 2021 Channel Chiefs, alongside such a prestigious group of channel peers. The last year has been full of many unexpected challenges but it now feels as if the hard work is really starting to pay off and I am truly grateful for the recognition of our ongoing efforts to grow our partner network.”
Since joining InfinityQS in 2014, Jason has helped to successfully launch three award-winning global partner program marketing campaigns aimed at educating, recruiting, and onboarding new channel partners and achieving global expansion.
Jason discusses: “Part of my role has been to ensure a wide variety of industry expertise across partner profiles, from small niche consultancies to multinational industrial IT services organisations. As a result, we’ve now formed strategic partnerships with more than 50 leading engineering, consultancy, and technology providers, building a global network that spans the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and Oceania.”
Jason’s success continued throughout 2020, in response to urgent demand from manufacturers looking to overcome the operational challenges caused during the crisis.
He explains: “The pandemic instigated a massive spike in demand from manufacturers requesting the digital tools to work remotely, improve quality and performance, increase agility and by extension, resilience. To support them, we launched a free Proof-of-Concept cloud deployment framework that allowed partners to remotely setup, configure, and manage rapid, small-scale, focused implementations of our solution.
“This versatility meant our partners were able to transition almost exclusively to remote work – from initial sales engagement through remote deployment and training – and it was this ability to work collaboratively, both internally and with our wider global partner network, that is key to our ongoing success. Because of our close engagement and commitment to our partners, the InfinityQS partner program has doubled in size since last year”.
Jason concludes: “Building an effective channel program is not about recruiting every partner—it’s about recruiting the right partners. Being a Channel Chief means listening closely to your partners and building a tightly focused sales and recruitment strategy based around their needs. This has ensured the easy adoption and successful integration of our solutions, no matter where our customers are located in the world.”