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Microsoft names new global Channel Chief
Mon, 2nd Sep 2013
FYI, this story is more than a year old

Microsoft has appointed Phil Sorgen as corporate vice president of the company’s Worldwide Partner Group, replacing Jon Roskill who resigned last week.

Sorgen will manage a team of sales and marketing professionals tasked with helping Microsoft’s 640,000-member-strong partner community capitalise on new areas of growth in cloud computing, mobility, big data and enterprise social technologies.

A 17-year veteran of Microsoft, Sorgen previously led the company’s US Small and Midmarket Solutions and Partners (SMS&P) Group, which provided Microsoft technology solutions for over 20 million SMBs in America. Before this position, he served as president of Microsoft Canada for 3 1/2 years.

“Our partner ecosystem is a key asset to Microsoft and carries tremendous strategic importance to the company,” says Vahé Torossian, corporate vice president of worldwide SMS&P.

Sorgen has been a member of Torossian’s extended leadership team for several years and has been involved in multiple global initiatives that have shaped the worldwide SMS&P business and partner strategies.

“Phil’s rich leadership experience in working with our customers and partners in the United States and Canada makes him an ideal fit to help our partners drive new opportunities as Microsoft transforms into a company delivering devices and high-value cloud services,” Torossian says.

Sorgen will officially assumed his new role on September 1, reporting to Torossian.

Roskill, who headed Microsoft’s partner organisation for three years, says he plans to “return to my roots of product development."