Each year, CRN announces its list of Channel Chiefs. This list constitutes a "who's who" within the world of channel management. According to CRN, these folks head up the partner programs that you all depend on to run your businesses.

I am extremely honored to be one of the named Channel Chiefs this year, especially since Edison Peres and I were named to the 50 most influential list. However, I really wanted to take the time to point out my colleagues who were named this year. I can't tell you how excited we are at Cisco to have six of our executives recognized by CRN.

Most importantly, I wanted to be sure that you all realize these types of honors are not earned in a vacuum. While I am thrilled that five Cisco executives were honored by CRN this year, this type of recognition is really a statement on our wonderful Cisco partners. With your input on our programs and insight into our business relationships, we have been able to put ourselves in a position where this type of recognition, while always welcome, is not necessarily surprising. And that is not me tooting the Cisco horn. That is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Cisco's partners, which simply cannot go unrecognized.

Before you head over to check out the full announcement on CRN, join me in congratulating the CRN Channel Chiefs at Cisco this year:

Wendy Bahr
Senior Vice President (SVP), Americas Partner Organization; Cisco Systems, Americas Partner Organization

Wendy Bahr is a familiar face around our Cisco blogs. She has led our Americas Partner Organization since 2012. Through a team of more than 650 employees and more than 12,000 partners, Wendy is responsible for partner enablement, partner profitability, and product and services growth with our partners in the Americas (United States, Canada, and Latin America.) We continue to see great things in the Americas from Wendy's team. They are definitely capitalizing on the market transitions so that Cisco and its partners continue to capture new opportunities.

Debbie Dunnam
Senior Vice President (SVP), Americas Services Sales, Cisco Systems

With a wealth of experience, Debbie Dunnam drives services growth in the Americas. With a combination of sales leadership and understanding of customer and partner needs, Debbie has led teams that created tremendous impact and growth in business revenue. Her team has seen tremendous success during the past year. Services continue to be a significant part of the business, and with Debbie's leadership in the Americas, I have full confidence that success continues.

Julie Hens
Vice President, Worldwide Distribution, Cisco Systems, Worldwide Partnering Organization

A 14 year Cisco veteran, Julie Hens is responsible for all aspects of sales, marketing, operations and logistics in her current role as Vice President for the Worldwide Distribution Channel. The Worldwide Distribution organization is one of the fastest growing segments of Cisco's business. It's an avenue where we can continue to grow in new ways in the future. I know Julie will keep making great things happen here.

Edison Peres
Senior Vice President, Worldwide Channels, Cisco, Worldwide Channels

Edison Peres. is seen often on the Channels Blog, and I know many of you know him well. He and his team focus on creating and driving channel sales, marketing strategies, programs, and engagement models to accelerate growth and enable partners to transform and grow their businesses, adopt new technologies, and improve profitability. As always, constant feedback is welcome feedback. I know our partners don't hesitate to reach out to Edison, and that is fantastic. I hope you continue to do the same for all of us Channel Chiefs this year.

Raja Sundaram
VP, World Wide Services Partner, Cisco Systems, Worldwide Services

Raja Sundaram is an 18 year Cisco veteran who heads up the Worldwide Services Partner Organization, which develops and executes strategies that enable Cisco partners to grow and transform their services business. Raja also has leadership responsibility for the Services Commercial Segment, and you can increasingly find him on our Channels Blog space. In fact, just last week, he dropped by to talk about software-enabled services. Raja and his team continue to streamline the business in order to improve the ease of doing business with Cisco. With Raja at the helm, you will continue to see services become more and more integrated with our partner offerings across the board.

Again, I cannot express to you how exciting it is to work with these folks on a daily basis, and how wonderful it is that Cisco Partners put us in a position for such recognition. I look forward to meeting with many of you in person at Partner Summit next month, and I hope those of you that won't be attending can join us via Virtual Partner Summit (VPS).

In the meantime, please join me in congratulating my colleagues and yourselves! This is truly a joint effort.