Today CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, named two SonicWall executives, Chris Auger and Steve Pataky, to its exclusive 2018 list of Channel Chiefs.

CRN’s editorial staff chose the executives on this elite annual list on the basis of their professional accomplishments, industry reputation and dedication to the channel partner community. Each of the 2018 Channel Chiefs have distinguished themselves by building strong partner programs and evangelizing the importance of channel partnerships.

Robert Falerta, Executive Chairman of The Channel Company, shares insight into how the list was finalized:

“The executives on CRN’s 2018 Channel Chiefs list stand out for their exceptional leadership, vision and commitment to the channel. These individuals deserve special recognition for their development and support of robust partner programs, innovative business strategy and significant contribution to the overall health of a vigorously growing channel. We applaud each Channel Chief’s impressive record of accomplishments and look forward to their future successes.”

Since Pataky and his team launched the SecureFirst Partner Program in November 2016, SonicWall has seen record partner growth numbers with an increase of 500 percent since May 2017 with more than 21,000 registered partners, 7,700 of which are new to SonicWall. In 2017, Pataky oversaw the launch of the Partner Enabled Services Program, which equips partners to deliver specialized security services including design, implementation, configuration and training to optimize customers’ SonicWall investments. Through the program, partners are vetted, granted status as a SonicWall Authorized Services Partner and given access to exclusive training, tools, sales, marketing and technical resources.

In addition to being named on the 2018 Channel Chiefs list, Steve Pataky has the additional honor of being named on CRN’s exclusive 50 Most Influential Channel Chiefs list.

Steve Pataky
SVP, Chief Revenue Officer

Chris Auger joined SonicWall in December 2015 and has been instrumental in reestablishing SonicWall as a 100 percent channel company. Just four months after launching SecureFirst, Auger’s team launched SonicWall University to equip partners with the sales and technical skills needed to provide industry leading cybersecurity expertise. SonicWall University is a key component of SecureFirst, with curriculum based on intelligence gathered from SonicWall Capture Labs and threat researchers who analyze real-time data analytics derived from more than 1 million sensors worldwide.

Chris Auger
Vice President, Sales, Americas

The 2018 CRN Channel Chiefs list, including the 50 Most Influential Channel Chiefs, is featured online at www.crn.com/channelchiefs and will appear in the February 2018 issue of CRN.