Lisa Stockwell (Exclusive Networks)
Specialist distributor Exclusive Networks has appointed Lisa Stockwell as head of strategy and growth across Asia Pacific amid plans to enhance vendor relations while building out a next-generation digital technology portfolio.
Effective immediately, Stockwell joins the business following a three-month industry break and more than 11 years at fellow distributor Arrow -- formerly Distribution Central -- as director of Vendor Alliances across Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ).
Sydney-based Stockwell will be responsible for “maximising the value and regional penetration” of existing vendor alliances, in addition to expanding the distributor’s portfolio of next-generation digital infrastructure solutions.
“The relationships we have with our vendors is a cornerstone of our business,” said Brad Gray, senior vice president of Asia Pacific at Exclusive Networks. “Lisa’s extensive experience in building and executing programs including stakeholder management and engagement, will strengthen Exclusive Networks’ portfolio of vendors and help enable a totally trusted digital world for organisations throughout the region.”
With more than 20 years of experience in the channel, Stockwell has operated across all aspects of the technology ecosystem -- spanning vendors, distributors and system integrators.
Such expertise has translated into industry recognition on more than one occasion -- notably as a Shining Star in the ARN Women in ICT Awards (WIICTA) in 2016, in addition to taking home the Marketing Excellence honours at the ARN Innovation Awards in 2018.
“Cyber security and cloud solutions have never been more relevant than they are today as enterprises throughout Asia Pacific accelerate their digital transformation strategies amid the pandemic,” Stockwell added. “I look forward to working closely with our vendor community to take advantage of the growth opportunities within the region.”
Regional expansion plans
The appointment of Stockwell comes as Exclusive Networks -- which listed on Euronext Paris in September -- plans to build out its X-OD subscription platform beyond Europe and into the Asia Pacific region by the end of the year, with the distributor seeing eager uptake of its on-demand, subscription-based delivery platform for vendor solutions and professional services.
As reported by Channel Asia, X-OD -- short for ‘Exclusive Networks On-Demand' -- is designed to make the transition to subscription-based consumption fast, safe and simple for partners and their customers.
Moreover, it gives vendors that are not currently subscription-based the ability to derive subscription-based revenues.
“Until now, few reseller partners have been able to capitalise on the market forces driving vendors and customers relentlessly to an ‘everything-as-a-service’ world,” said Jesper Trolle, CEO of Exclusive Networks, when the platform was first unveiled. “X-OD makes it easy for them to fast-forward transformation to subscription-based consumption.
“X-OD is a digital platform capable of turning virtually anything into a subscription, simplifying consumption and enabling new services and bespoke bundles to be created, sold and provisioned at speed and scale. X-OD allows vendors who are not currently subscription-based to derive subscription-based revenues," he added.
Meanwhile in September 2020, Exclusive Networks acquired Hong Kong-based specialist value-added distributor JJNET amid plans to combine local capabilities to create a cyber security infrastructure “powerhouse”.
Strengthening channel reach across Hong Kong and the wider Asia Pacific markets, the transaction was designed to offer “immediate scale” for Exclusive Networks, backed by in-country partner relationships and portfolio synergies to support “rapid growth objectives”.
Founded in 2009, JJNET specialises in the distribution of cloud and security solutions, currently holding vendor agreements with Ruckus, Micro Focus and Pulse Secure, in addition to A10 Networks and ExtraHop among others.
The company’s 22 employees have since joined forces with the local Exclusive Networks team in Hong Kong, numbering almost 30 and reporting into regional headquarters in Singapore. Upon closure of the acquisition, current general manager Jimmy Lok became country manager of Hong Kong at Exclusive Networks.
