WatchGuard® Technologies, a global leader in unified cybersecurity, today announced the appointment of Allison Clarke as Vice President of Partner Programs and GTM Strategy, a newly created role designed to further strengthen WatchGuard's channel-first business model and deliver a more seamless experience for partners.
In this role, Clarke will lead the strategy, innovation, and alignment of WatchGuard's partner programs and go-to-market initiatives across all routes to market. She will focus on making WatchGuard the easiest security vendor to do business with by ensuring the voice of the partner is reflected in key business decisions, from programs and enablement to pricing, packaging, and product strategy.
"Our goal is simple: make WatchGuard the easiest company in cybersecurity to do business with," said Joe Smolarski, CEO of WatchGuard. "Partners are at the center of everything we do, and Allison's appointment reflects our commitment to building a more connected, frictionless partner experience. Her track record of creating programs that help partners grow makes her the right leader to help drive our next phase of channel success."
Clarke brings more than 20 years of channel and go-to-market leadership experience to WatchGuard. Before joining WatchGuard, she spent nearly a decade helping shape Sophos' global channel strategy and partner programs, leading initiatives that supported partner growth and engagement worldwide. Most recently, she served as Vice President of GTM and Partner Programs at SonicWall. She also held leadership roles at McAfee, where she helped build and scale channel programs that drove business growth.
"WatchGuard's commitment to its partners is one of the things that attracted me to the company," said Clarke. "Partners want to do business on their terms, through the routes and motions that work best for them. My focus is on ensuring every interaction with WatchGuard is as simple, consistent, and rewarding as possible. I'm especially looking forward to meeting our partner community at IMPACT in Nashville and hearing directly from them about how we can continue improving their experience and helping them grow."
As a 100% channel-focused company, WatchGuard continues to invest in the people, programs, and technologies that help partners grow their businesses, increase profitability, and deliver stronger security outcomes for customers.