As a 100% channel-based company, SonicWall strives to provide its over 20,000 partners around the world with one of the industry’s strongest partner programs. With that work comes the tireless effort of the SonicWall channel team and its leaders, two of which were recently named to the prestigious CRN 2020 Channel Chief list, with one also taking their place among the top 50.

SonicWall Vice President, Worldwide Channel Sales, HoJim Kim returns to the outlets Channel Chief list and along with him SonicWall Vice President Channel Sales, North America David Bankemper.

CRN’s 2020 Channel Chiefs list honors the distinguished leaders who have most influenced the IT channel with cutting-edge strategies and partnerships. The 2020 Channel Chiefs have shown outstanding commitment, an ability to lead, and a passion for progress within the channel through their partner programs.

As a result of introducing SonicWall Security-as-a-Service, the two have been focused on the addition of MSP/MSSP partners and, in November 2019, introduced a monthly billing engine to 10 beta partners. Working around the clock, SonicWall announced the updates globally in December 2019 in a coordinated launch, a massive effort completed within seven months.

Kim takes his place within ‘The Top 50 Most Influential Channel Chiefs’ listed, individuals that were chosen by the CRN editorial staff that stand at the very top of the already select group of Channel Chief honorees. These top executives have cultivated the greatest professional and channel achievements, and their leadership will greatly impact the future IT community, driving growth and innovation.

“The nature of the IT channel is fast growth and constant challenges to overcome,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “CRN’s Channel Chiefs work tirelessly, leading the industry forward through superior partner programs and strategies. Our team here at The Channel Company congratulates these outstanding individuals for their dedication to the channel.”

SonicWall offers the SecureFirst Partner Program that accelerates partners’ ability to be thought-leaders and game-changers by providing them with best-in-class tools, such as a partner portal, SonicWall University as well as opportunities to expand their training and earn certificates.

SonicWall University is a sophisticated online, role-based platform that provides web training for sales, sales engineering and post-sales support. Partners that complete training have achieve a point-of-sale increase over the same quarter one year prior.