Channel Champion Eric Martorano Is Leaving Nextiva
Nextiva’s chief revenue officer and longtime channel veteran, Eric Martorano, has left the company, sources tell CRN.
Nextiva Chief Revenue Officer Eric Martorano, a perennial channel champion who has opened up big opportunities for partners in the unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) market, has left the company, sources said.
Martorano, who joined Nextiva one year ago and is on this year’s CRN Top 100 list as a disruptive channel force in the SMB UCaaS market, said in an email sent to the Nextiva team by president and COO Marc Stoll that that his decision to leave allows him “some much needed time to focus on my family and health.”
Further, Martorano, said that while it was a “very difficult decision” he was confident that with “the amazing talent in the sales organization” Nextiva in a “great place” to go forward.
CRN reached out to Martorano and Nextiva but had not heard back at press time.
Under Martorano’s leadership, Nextiva launched an enhanced channel program and beefed up its channel team with top notch talent, moving to aggressively grab share from the likes of competitors RingCentral, 8x8 and Vonage.
A channel veteran of more than 20 years, Martorano recently made it to the quarterfinals of CRN’s annual Channel Madness competition which recognizes the most respected and popular channel chiefs.
Martorano joined Nextiva last July after serving as CEO of software asset management company Accordo Group for two years. He sold Accordo Group in June to MarketStar. Prior to that, Martorano was chief revenue officer for cloud UC provider Intermedia for two years and was the general manager of U.S. partner sales for Microsoft for more than eight years.
Quy “Q” Nguyen, founder and CEO of Allyance Communications, one of the top global communications solution providers in the country, said he was disappointed to hear of Martorano’s departure but excited to see what new opportunities Martorano brings partners when he lands at another company.
“No matter what company Eric lands at it is always a company we will consider doing business with,” said Nguyen. “Eric is always channel focused and channel friendly. He really looks out for partners. If every channel executive had that mindset our industry would be thriving a lot more than it is today.”
Nguyen, who has known Martorano for more than a decade and has seen first-hand his impact on partners, said he has seen many channel chiefs come and go but few have had the lasting impact that Martorano has had on the industry.
“Some channel chiefs get it and some don’t have a clue,” he said. “[Martorano] really understands the channel and partners. That is actually rare. I hate to say it but there are a lot of channel chiefs but there are not a lot of good channel chiefs. [Martorano] always brings it! He revamps the program, looks at the good and the bad and makes sure it is a win-win for both the vendor and the partner. He creates a win-win program for everybody. That is something that is rare and unique.”