Leading channel distributor elevates industry veterans Bana Qashu, Isaiah Hogberg, Rick Reed, and Rob Merhej to RVP role
CHICAGO – January 27, 2020 – AVANT Communications (“AVANT”), a platform for IT decision-making and the nation’s premier distributor for next generation technology, announces the elevation of channel veterans, Bana Qashu, Isaiah Hogberg, Rick Reed and Rob Merhej to the role of Regional Vice President. The announcement comes after a year of record growth for AVANT and positions the organization for continued success in the future with enhanced emphasis on channel sales propelling the success of AVANT’s Trusted Advisor community.
“We’re experiencing hyper growth right now thanks to the strength of our Trusted Advisor ecosystem and the hard work of these four channel leaders. Every good company needs to go through consistent evolution and by elevating these four standout channel sales drivers, we are setting the table for future success,” said Drew Lydecker, President of AVANT. “Our people are everything at AVANT. These RVP titles provide more opportunity for our leaders as they strive for bigger and better ways to support our Trusted Advisor community.”
The newly elevated Regional Vice Presidents bring years of industry experience and dedication to AVANT’s mission:
- Bana Qashu, RVP East, joined AVANT four and a half years ago after working with Mitel and Birch Communications. Bana has been recognized by CRN as an influential women of the channel in 2020, 2019 & 2018 and received the 2018 Alliance of Channel Women ACT award. She holds an executive board position with the Xposure Inclusion & Diversity Council.
- Isaiah Hogberg, RVP West, joined AVANT three and a half years ago after holding prior roles at ViaWest and Flexential.
- Rick Reed, RVP Central, joined AVANT three years ago after time at both Channel Partners / Informa and AT&T. Rick was named by CRN as one of the “100 people you should know in the Channel” in 2014 and leads Avant’s HQ2 | Dallas BattleLab.
- Rob Merhej, RVP, UK/EMEA, launched AVANT’s UK and EMEA market over 5 years ago and has been paramount to the success AVANT has had overseas.
As AVANT looks ahead to 2021 and beyond, the company anticipates hiring 20-40 new employees to continue building on AVANT’s explosive growth over the last decade. Many of these new hires will be Inside Channel Managers, put in place to support AVANT’s new regional vice presidents and existing channel management team. By offering the new regional vice presidents further ownership of their respective regions, AVANT seeks to build on the respect these individuals have earned throughout their careers and continue elevating their leadership within the AVANT organization.
This announcement comes on the heels of key elevations of AVANT veterans including Jennifer Gallego to Executive Vice President of Global Sales and Shane McNamara to Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operations.
To learn more about AVANT’s offerings visit the AVANT website: http://goavant.co.uk/.
About AVANT Communications
AVANT Communications is a platform for IT decision-making and the nation’s premier distributor for next-generation technologies. AVANT provides unique value to its extensive network of Trusted Advisors with original research, channel sales assistance, training, and tools to guide decision-making around IT services that promote business growth. From complex cloud designs to global wide-area network deployments to the latest in security services, AVANT sets the industry standard in enabling its partners and clients to make intelligent, data-driven decisions about services, technology and cost-effective communications. For more information, visit www.goavant.co.uk, or connect on Twitter and LinkedIn.