Microsoft Corp. has reached into the ranks of a rival, snagging Oracle worldwide channel chief Judson Althoff to take on the role of president of North American sales and marketing, and corporate vice-president. He’ll report directly to Microsoft COO Kevin Turner.
In his new role, Athoff will manage a team of sales, marketing and services professionals across the United States and Canada, beginning March 29th. He comes to Microsoft after 14 years with Oracle, where he most recently served as group vice president for worldwide alliances and vice president of global platform and distribution sales, trying to put a friendlier channel face on a formerly unapologetically direct sales-oriented vendor.
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His efforts earned him the No. 6 spot on CDN’s Top 25 Newsmakers of 2010 list, for his work integrating Sun Microsystems partners into Oracle and focus on growing Oracle’s channel business.
“Judson has a track record of successfully developing, growing and leading global sales organizations with a culture of execution excellence,” said Turner, in a statement. “Judson’s proven leadership will enable us to continue to excel in delivering the best devices and services experience to our customers including businesses and consumers.”