Joe McPhilips (BlackBerry)
BlackBerry Asia Pacific channel sales director Joe McPhillips has left his role, just over two years after joining cyber security vendor Cylance, which BlackBerry acquired in early 2019.
McPhillips came into the BlackBerry fold after several months with Cylance as APAC channels director. Not long after joining Cylance, BlackBerry announced its US$1.4 billion acquisition of the security vendor, the deal closing in February the following year.
Prior to joining Cylance, McPhillips spent a number of years as channel sales lead with fellow cyber security vendor Symantec, by way of Blue Coat Systems, which Symantec acquired for US$4.7 billion in 2016.
McPhillips has also done time in channel and partner-facing roles for the likes of Intel Security (McAfee), Riverbed Technology and Commvault.
“After joining one of the most exciting companies in my career and after only two years, it’s time to take a well-earned break,” McPhillips said in a LinkedIn post. “Having met and worked with some of cyber security’s smartest and nicest people, the last two years were certainly challenging and rewarding in many ways, my thanks to all of the Cylance family.”
McPhillips said it was time for some time off over the summer and then getting ready for the “next big thing” in the new year.
A spokesperson for BlackBerry confirmed McPhillips’ departure, but did not provide additional detail about a potential replacement for the role he has departed.
The move comes just weeks after BlackBerry consolidated its two partner programs on the back of its 2019 acquisition of Cylance.
The consolidation saw partners gain access to the vendor’s entire portfolio of solutions, comprising enterprise products and security under the unified BlackBerry Partner Program.
Previously, the vendor had its own BlackBerry Enterprise Partner Program (BEPP) for solutions providers. Separate from this was its BlackBerry Cylance Partner Program for security resellers and consultants.
However, now unified partners will be required to use a single registration program. In addition, the unified scheme will adopt Cylance’s tiers of Gold, Platinum and Emerald, as opposed to the Enterprise’s Silver, Gold and Platinum. According to BlackBerry, select value-added distributors now also have the ability to obtain backend rebates for achieving new business growth targets.
