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Press Release

Talkdesk’s Jon Heaps named a Channel Partners ‘Top Gun 51’ channel leader

  • Talkdesk global channel vice president Jon Heaps recognized as Channel Partners Top Gun 51 leader for his integrity, knowledge, confidence, ability to inspire others, commitment and passion
  • Channel Partners and Channel Futures editors teamed with industry analysts and executives from master agencies and distributors to identify premier leaders in the indirect IT and telecom channel
  • Heaps and the rest of this year’s Top Gun 51 will be recognized in a special program during Channel Partners Virtual: Digital Events for the Modern Channel in September 2020

SAN FRANCISCO – July 15, 2020 — Talkdesk®, Inc., the cloud contact center for innovative enterprises, today announced that Jon Heaps, Talkdesk® global channel vice president, has been recognized as a “Top Gun 51” by the editors of Channel Partners and Channel Futures. The editors teamed with industry analysts and executives from master agencies and distributors to identify premier leaders in the indirect IT and telecom channel.  


Heaps has more than 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and business management with leading software technology and telecommunications providers. He has held strategic roles moving unified communications as a service (UCaaS) and contact centers to the cloud. As one of the founding trailblazers of the master agent industry, Heaps has been instrumental in building and expanding Taldesk’s master agent and reseller program globally.


“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as a Top Gun 51 by the editors of Channel Partners and Channel Futures, along with so many distributors, master agents and industry analysts I admire and with whom I have built strong relationships,” said Jon Heaps, global vice president of Channel, Talkdesk. “Talkdesk has experienced unprecedented growth and momentum in recent months, fueled in large part by our partners and their unwavering belief that Talkdesk is disrupting the cloud contact center market. We’re doing great work together, and I look forward to building on that success with all our partners.”


To compile the Top Gun 51 list, determined each year in tandem with the annual MSP 501, Channel Partners and Channel Futures editors invited those who know channel executives best—distributors, master agents and industry analysts—to nominate leaders who exemplify channel advocacy and leadership. All nominations are strictly confidential.  


A channel leader was defined as possessing integrity, knowledge and confidence, the ability to inspire others, commitment and passion. He or she must be adept at recognizing the increasing diversity of partner types, revenue models, and partner and customer journeys.


Those tasked with selecting the Top Gun 51 were asked to consider three criteria for selection:

  1. Advocates for the channel model with internal leadership. Proof points: Minimal or no house or named accounts. Product or service has “channel-friendly” features and meets advertised claims for end-user functionality. Few operational roadblocks to success within the partner program.
  2. Is committed to partners’ business success: Proof points: Has increased the percentage of revenue coming through partners during tenure. Can show data to support innovative programs for, for example, use of MDF funds, training and certifications. Provides effective enablement.
  3. Works to earn trust: Proof points: Considered ethical and honest by partners. Is transparent about the direction of the company and limitations of product or service. Minimizes risk of engagement.

Heaps and the rest of this year’s #TopGun51 will be recognized in a special program during Channel Partners Virtual: Digital Events for the Modern Channel. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the Channel Partners Conference & Expo and Channel Partners Evolution have been combined into a three-day online event to be held September 8-10, 2020.


In addition, three special award winners—Channel Innovator (thought leadership, innovation); Lifetime Achievement Award and Rising Star (chief in the role less than two years)—will be announced during the program.  


“Today’s channel leaders must be futurists, accountants, technologists, marketers and crisis managers,” said Kris Blackmon, senior content director for Channel Partners and Channel Futures. “It’s important to recognize these outstanding executives on the basis of insights from within the community itself. We want to thank everyone who helped us assemble this year’s list.” 


The complete 2020 Top Gun 51 list is available at Channel Partners. 


Tweet this: Talkdesk channel VP Jon Heaps named a Channel Partners #TopGun51. Heaps recognized for integrity, knowledge and confidence, the ability to inspire others, commitment and passion https://bit.ly/2WmptYA


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About Talkdesk

Talkdesk® is the cloud contact center for the customer-obsessed. Combining enterprise performance with consumer simplicity, Talkdesk easily adapts to the evolving needs of support and sales teams and their end-customers, resulting in higher customer satisfaction, productivity and cost savings. Over 1,800 innovative companies around the world, including IBM, Acxiom, 2U, Trivago and Peloton, rely on Talkdesk to make customer experience their competitive advantage. Learn more and request a demo at www.talkdesk.com.


About Informa Tech

Channel Partners Online, Channel Futures, Channel Partners Conference & Expo and Channel Partners Evolution are part of Informa Tech, a market-leading B2B information provider with depth and specialization in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. They help drive the future by inspiring the technology community to design, build and run a better digital world by providing market-leading research, media, training and event brands. Every year, they welcome 7,400+ subscribers to their research, more than 3.8 million unique visitors a month to their digital communities, 18,200+ students to their training programs and 225,000 delegates to their events.


Background

The 2020 Top Gun 51 list is based on data collected by Channel Partners and Channel Futures from a list of well-known master agents, distributors and channel analysts. Data was collected online from May 13 to June 3, 2020. All nominations are held in strict confidence.


Talkdesk is a registered trademark of Talkdesk, Inc. All product and company names are trademarks™ or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.  


Media Contacts:

Gavin Gustafson

[email protected] 

(801) 560-0073