Six Rackspace Leaders Named 2020 Women of the Channel

CRN recognized six top Rackspace leaders today as part of its Women of the Channel list for 2020:

• Lisa McLin, Global Vice President Alliances & Channel Chief
• Judy Vansell, Global Partnerships Operations Director
• Vicki Patten, Global Partner Leader
• Adrianna Bustamante, Global Alliance Leader
• Lacey Rondon, Regional Partner Manager
• Kim Thorpe, Senior Global Partner Operations Business Manager

“Rackspace is proud to have six strong leaders on this year’s list,” said Lisa McLin, Global Vice President Alliances & Channel Chief.

The Rackspace Partner Program provides partners with visibility and access into one of the industry’s broadest portfolio of managed IT services and expertise, across the leading private and public clouds, application services, managed hosting, colocation and managed security. The company’s approach to our channel offers combines the ability to leverage both self-service and highly dedicated, customized program models to help meet both our channel partners’ needs and the needs of their customers.

As Global Vice President Alliances & Channel Chief, Lisa is responsible for strategy and execution, growing partner relationships and propelling organizational revenue at Rackspace, while serving as a visionary servant leader working to elevate others. Her two specialties are mastering the development of high-velocity sales organizations, and focusing on developing repeatable sales processes and methodologies, while owning accountability for profit-generating programs and building alliance and partnership strategies across North America. Lisa develops strong winning teams and is an active mentor, helping others advance their careers.

Previously, Lisa served as vice president of sales, leading the Rackspace commercial install base within the small business and midmarket sales segments. She is known for her deep expertise in strategic sales, service delivery and business management, and her ability to engage the C-suite, assess enterprise opportunities and build cross-organizational strategies that drive customer satisfaction and revenue profitability.

Regarding her CRN recognition for the fourth year in a row, Lisa said, “This highlights the importance of diversity in the channel and in technology. Diversity of thought, experience and culture brings the best ideas forward to drive innovation, company growth and an overall better customer experience.”

Check out Lisa McLin’s CRN Profile

As Global Partnerships Operations Director, Judy is responsible for creating Fanatical Experience™ for partners globally. Since joining the Rackspace partner organization, she has driven channel transformation through innovation — including business support, tool enhancement, portal gamification, a simple commission structure and a joint go-to market strategy for U.S. partners. She is currently focused on extending these initiatives around the globe to ensure that all Rackspace partners have a consistent experience in all regions.

Prior to joining Rackspace, Judy led sales and operations teams for more than 25 years. Her experience includes developing and growing channel programs, providing operational support and working closely with value-added resellers, distributors, master agents, digital agencies and alliance partners to deliver better results.

Judy practices a servant leadership style and is the co-chair of the Education and Development for Rackspace resource group and the Professional Organization for Women’s Empowerment at Rackspace (POWER).

Regarding her CRN recognition, Judy said, “We have a strong and dedicated team of women leaders in the partnership organization at Rackspace. I am proud to be part of a team whose mission is to ensure that we all thrive, and drive greatness both inside and outside of Rackspace.” 

Check out Judy Vansell’s CRN profile

As Global Partner Leader, Vicki Patten has focused on growing the channel program with master agents and private equity partners since 2017. In 2019, she led her most strategic partners to double-digit growth and was named Partner Account Manager of the Year. She enables Rackspace partners to position the right solutions to help them achieve their business goals and, as part of the Global Channel Initiative, is helping Rackspace partners grow on a global basis.

Prior to joining Rackspace, Vicki spent three decades helping organizations solve their IT business problems and helping partners grow their businesses. After starting her career in hardware sales, Vicki pivoted to services, where she worked with customers and partners to sell professional and managed services.

Regarding her CRN recognition, Vicki said, “I’m honored to be named a Woman of the Channel for a second year, and to work with so many talented, hard-working and generous men and women across the Channel.”

Check out Vicki Patten’s CRN Profile

As Senior Director of Alliances at Rackspace, Adrianna oversees global partnerships across VMware and Dell Technologies. During her 12 years in the channel, she’s led partnerships and go-to-market strategies across leading technology alliances, system integrators, digital experience and commerce ecosystems. She also helped transform the Rackspace digital experience practice into a robust sales and service delivery engine, which helped generate consecutive years of double-digit growth. And she was recognized by CRN magazine as one of the 100 People You Don’t Know But Should. Adrianna also serves as the Chair of the Rackspace POWER resource group.

Prior to Rackspace, Adrianna worked in publicity for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, where she spearheaded launches and campaigns for catalog and TV on DVD. 

Regarding her CRN recognition, Adrianna said, “It’s a privilege to work alongside talented leaders both inside and outside of our organization. Thank you to CRN for bringing a spotlight to these women that are making a difference, not only within channel and alliances, but also within the tech industry.”

Check out Adrianna Bustamante's CRN profile.

As Regional Partner Manager, Lacey joined Rackspace in 2018 to help support channel partners. She now supports partners in the Mountain Region, helping them achieve success in the cloud through enablement, resource alignment and opportunity qualification. Lacey has been helping companies with their digital transformation for the past 10 years. Passionate about technology and helping organizations make the leap to cloud, she is also a part of Cloud Girls, an organization focused on helping partners engage in meaningful business discussions that showcase the value our partnership brings to the table.

Regarding her CRN recognition, Lacey said, “I’m honored to be named a Woman of the Channel for a second year in a row, and to be surrounded by strong entrepreneurial women making a difference in the tech space.”

Check out Lacey Rondon’s CRN profile.

As Senior Global Partner Operations Business Manager, Kim is responsible for making global strategic visions a reality by transforming the way Rackspace operationalizes partner programs, delivering program oversight, establishing best practices and enhancing tools to help ensure the best outcomes for partners.

Prior to her role in Partner Operations, Kim held positions at Rackspace for 13 years across Rackspace Private Cloud, internal IT and product, including business operations, training program oversight and business analysis for internal software development. Also, Kim is Scrum Master certified and holds a Six Sigma Black Belt certification.

Regarding her CRN recognition, Kim said, “I have learned a great deal in our partner business and have come to embrace the power of the channel. I appreciate working alongside such a great group of people every day. I look forward to continue adding value where my passion lies — operational excellence.”

Check out Kim Thorpe’s CRN profile