Scott Lewis, VP of Partner Marketing and Enablement, Named One of the Top 100 Most Influential Executives in the Industry by Everything Channel's CRN

WALTHAM, Mass., Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Novell, the leader in intelligent workload management, today announced that Scott Lewis, Vice President of Partner Marketing and Enablement, was named one of the 100 Top Most Influential Executives in the Industry by Everything Channel's CRN.  The Top 100 list is divided into four sub-categories of 25 leaders each; Lewis was included in the 'Top Channel Mavericks' list for being an executive whose forward-thinking approach is changing the rules of the channel. The award was published in the November 29th issue of CRN.

The annual listing of the Top Most Influential Executives in the Industry recognizes executives who have changed the way the channel does business by spearheading aggressive channel sales and marketing initiatives to significantly alter the balance of power in the technology business. This year, Lewis is saluted in the list of 25 Mavericks – executives who are changing the channel structure with innovative strategies and programs.

Lewis has worked in a global channel leadership role at Novell for the past seven years. His relentless emphasis on successful partner marketing initiatives continues to produce substantial gains in partnerships and further bolsters the Novell brand in the IT channel market. Under his leadership, the Novell PartnerNet program received Five-Star award recognition in the Security, Software and Storage categories in Everything Channel's 16th annual 2010 Partner Program Guide (PPG). This award acknowledges Novell's channel commitment and the strength of its programs for reseller partners which include IT systems integrators, technology solution providers and consultants.

In focusing Novell's channel efforts around partner satisfaction and growth, Lewis has made significant advancements in spotlighting the success of the PartnerNet program.  Under his leadership, Novell has retooled its systems, processes, programs and people to become a partner-first organization committed to three main areas: enabling partner business growth, investing in partner profit potential and accelerating partner business success. He has also spearheaded enhancements to the Novell Cloud Service Provider program. Originally developed with Novell's Global Alliances team for tier-one service providers, Lewis and the partner organization have helped to extend the program to a broader community of qualifying service providers.

"Since announcing the 2009 PartnerNet program, our partners continue to consistently report increases in revenue and pipeline from leveraging new sales and enablement programs and tools. By taking advantage of our value-based program, approximately 50 percent of our partners' invoiced business in 2010 was leveraged using our profit-focused deal registration and volume incentive programs," said Lewis.  "I am honored to receive this recognition from CRN on behalf of the Novell Partner Organization.  We have a leading-edge team of channel enablement, partner marketing and partner program professionals who are key to driving the improvements and innovations Novell and its partners have achieved."

"As the IT channel continues to evolve, we salute the market influencers leading the charge for improvement to the overall health of the channel," said Kelley Damore, VP, Editorial Director, Everything Channel. "Everything Channel's Top 100 Most Influential list recognizes those executives whose influence and innovation have made a positive impact on channel growth, leading to significant strides in the IT industry.  From influential and innovative executives to sales leaders and channel mavericks, these 100 individuals have demonstrated the dedication, foresight and calculated risk-taking that makes us proud to be a part of the IT channel."

The Top 100 Most Influential Executives in the Industry were selected by the editors of CRN.

Winners were announced in the November 29th issue of CRN.  To read about the Top 100 Most Influential Executives in the Industry, go to www.crn.com.

About Novell

Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL), a leader in intelligent workload management, helps organizations through WorkloadIQ securely deliver and manage computing services across physical, virtual and cloud computing environments.  We help customers reduce the cost, complexity, and risk associated with their IT systems through our solutions for identity and security, systems management, collaboration and Linux-based operating platforms. With our infrastructure software and ecosystem of partnerships, Novell integrates mixed IT environments, allowing people and technology to work as one. For more information, visit www.novell.com.

About Everything Channel

Everything Channel is the premier provider of IT channel-focused events, media, research, consulting, and sales and marketing services. With over 30 years of experience and engagement, Everything Channel has the unmatched channel expertise to execute integrated solutions for technology executives managing partner recruitment, enablement and go-to-market strategy in order to accelerate technology sales. Everything Channel is a UBM company. To learn more about Everything Channel, visit us at http://www.everythingchannel.com.

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetisation of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to www.ubm.com.

SOURCE Novell, Inc.