Mitel has appointed Ben Macdonald as Vice President, Global Channel Go-to-Market, putting the former Owl Labs executive in charge of its worldwide channel strategy.
Macdonald joins the business communications company from Owl Labs, where he served as vice president of global sales and channels. He will oversee Mitel's global channel strategy, partner programme and related operations as the company works with a network of more than 6,000 partner organisations.
The appointment comes as communications vendors try to capture spending from companies upgrading older systems. Mitel cited its own research showing that more than 68% of businesses have used their current communications systems for more than seven years, while 92% of organisations that are modernising are choosing an integrated-hybrid approach.
Against that backdrop, channel partners are central to sales and implementation efforts, particularly in sectors with strict requirements around privacy, resilience and continuity. Mitel's partner community plays a key role in serving customers in industries including healthcare, finance and the public sector.
Channel remit
In his new role, Macdonald will shape how Mitel works with partners globally. The company tied the hire to its recently introduced enhanced Global Partner Program and to broader efforts to expand its channel ecosystem.
Macdonald has spent much of his career in channel and partner leadership roles across unified communications, security, networking and software markets. His background includes work on partner segmentation, managed service provider and service provider ecosystem development, and subscription-based revenue models across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
Before Owl Labs, he held senior channel roles at Poly, Juniper Networks and Ekahau. At Owl Labs, he helped shift the company towards a business-to-business, enterprise, channel-led model and secured agreements through alliances with Microsoft and Lenovo.
Mitel is drawing on that experience as it seeks to deepen ties with resellers and other partners during a period of replacement demand for communications systems. According to the company, analysts have described the current market as one of the largest communications refresh cycles in a decade.
Macdonald also brings industry recognition as a CRN Channel Chief. His track record includes helping businesses move from hardware-led transactions to recurring revenue models, an area of focus for many technology suppliers as software subscriptions and managed services account for a larger share of customer spending.
Partner focus
Mitel sells communications, collaboration and contact centre products and says it serves more than 70 million users in more than 100 countries. The company has positioned hybrid communications as a core part of its market approach, with channel partners acting as advisers and delivery partners for customers replacing legacy systems.
Eric Hanson, chief marketing officer at Mitel, said the hire supports that strategy.
"Ben's track record of building partner-led growth engines is exactly what we need as we enter this next phase," said Hanson. "Our partners are trusted advisors to organizations that cannot afford disruption in critical industries like healthcare, finance, public sector, and beyond. Strengthening our global channel leadership means we can better support those partners in delivering the outcomes their customers depend on."
Macdonald said the company's partner base was a key attraction.
"The partner opportunity in business communications right now is exceptional," said Macdonald. "Organisations across every sector are rethinking their communications infrastructure, and they're turning to trusted channel partners to guide that journey. Mitel's global partner ecosystem is a genuine competitive advantage, and I'm excited to help develop it further for long-term growth."