PlanetOne Executives Named to CRN’s 2017 Women of the Channel List

Bernadette Richardson and Lauren Shapiro Recognized for Ongoing Commitment to Partner Success and Business Excellence

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 15, 2017 – PlanetOne Communications, the IT and Telecom industry’s preferred connectivity partner, today announced CRN^®, a brand of The Channel Company, recognized two of its executives, Bernadette “Bern” Richardson, vice president of marketing and its president, Lauren Shapiro, as part of the prestigious 2017 Women of the Channel list. The win marks the third consecutive year Lauren, who made her debut on the list in 2015 as one of the IT and telecom channel’s Top 100 most powerful female executives, has been recognized by CRN. This is the first year Bern, who joined PlanetOne in May 2016, has been honored as one of the IT channel’s top female executives.

The 2017 Women of the Channel list is comprised of female executives in the IT channel, representing vendors, distributors, solution providers and other organizations, and who figure prominently in the channel ecosystem. Honorees are recognized for outstanding leadership, vision and unique role in driving channel growth and innovation. CRN editors select the Women of the Channel honorees based on their professional accomplishments, demonstrated expertise and ongoing dedication to the IT channel.

With Bern’s go-to-market expertise, PlanetOne raised the bar in 2016, especially around events, engagement, incentives, philanthropic efforts and social media success. The firm’s Tech Tour events achieved record attendance, striking the right mix of education, business development opportunities, networking and fun. PlanetOne’s first-class sales incentives inspired partners and providers to work hard and play hard, rewarding their mutual success. Additionally, the company’s social media efforts and thought leadership soared to new heights in 2016.

As president of PlanetOne, Lauren is responsible for the firm’s exceptional operations, continued year-over-year growth and unrivaled partner and provider success. She joined PlanetOne in 2010 and is being recognized once again by CRN for her leadership, commitment to excellence and relentless focus on partner enablement and success.

Under Lauren’s leadership, PlanetOne experienced record growth in 2016, welcoming more of the industry’s top MSPs into the PlanetOne partner ecosystem and earning top-performing partner accolades from and closing high dollar deals with Preferred Providers including Level 3, MegaPath, Mitel, Masergy and Rackspace. Over the last five years the PlanetOne team has generated a 500 percent increase in revenues and seen its cloud services success scale to nearly 50 percent of the company’s sales, attracting new providers including Aryaka, Datapipe, RapidScale, RingCentral, TPx Communications (formerly TelePacific) and Verizon.

“These extraordinary executives support every aspect of the channel ecosystem, from technical innovation to marketing to business development, working tirelessly to keep the channel moving into the future,” said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. “They are creating and elevating channel partner programs, developing fresh go-to-market strategies, strengthening the channel’s network of partnerships and building creative new IT solutions, among many other contributions. We congratulate all the 2017 Women of the Channel on their stellar accomplishments and look forward to their future success.”

“At PlanetOne, we go the extra mile every day to help our partners and providers grow their businesses and deliver exceptional service to their customers,” said Ted Schuman, Founder and CEO, PlanetOne. “Whether we are helping our partners pivot to a more profitable sales model, embrace a new technology or collaboratively sell into the mid-market, Lauren and Bern are on the front lines leading and empowering our team with the real-world insight and resources they need to achieve and replicate success.”

Richardson and Shapiro are featured as part of the 2017 Women of the Channel list which will be published in the June issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/wotc.

About PlanetOne Communications
PlanetOne is the IT channel and telecom industry’s preferred business partner for identifying and delivering cloud-based and connectivity solutions to small and midsize businesses and enterprises. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., the industry pioneer is celebrated by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies and regarded as a top-performing partner for hundreds of telecom agents and channel partners nationwide. In 2015, PlanetOne ranked No. 1 in the Phoenix Business Journal’s annual “Best Places to Work” survey, and in 2016 was recognized as one of the largest privately-held companies in the 2016 Arizona Corporate Excellence (ACE) Awards program. The award-winning PlanetOne Partner Program has also been included in CRN’s Connectivity Solutions Partner Program Guide since 2014. To reach PlanetOne call (877) 487.8353 or e-mail sales@planetone.net.

To learn more, visit www.planetone.net. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube.

About Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

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