Geographic Theater Leadership

Shailesh Naik is responsible for BLADE’s North American sales operations which account for over 40% of the company’s revenues. Shailesh has more than 25 years of senior sales, marketing and channel experience in the technology sector; including establishing and leading the OEM sales function for Nortel’s Blade Server Switch Business Unit (BSSBU). Under his sales leadership, BSSBU, which became BLADE Network Technologies when spun out as an independent company in February 2006, garnered the top market share position in a highly competitive market. Under his leadership at BLADE, the company has expanded its OEM and partner go-to-market strategy by developing an “Authorized” and “Champion” Solution Partner Program for distributors, VARs and resellers, as well as significantly expanding the company’s sales force to address increased customer demand. Prior to joining Nortel, Shailesh held senior executive positions at Qwest as vice president of Business Development and general manager of Qwest’s Storage Utility business. Previously, he spent 16 years at Hewlett-Packard in a variety of executive sales and marketing roles including general manager of storage sales for North America. Shailesh has an MBA from Lancaster University and a B.S. in Economics from Kingston Polytechnic University, United Kingdom.

Charles Ferland
Vice President and General Manager, Europe, Middle East & Africa

Charles Ferland is responsible for BLADE’s Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales and support operations, including BLADE’s OEM relationships with partners such as HP, IBM and NEC, as well as direct sales through value added resellers and distributors. Under Charles’ management, the EMEA region accounts for 40% of the company’s business. Charles has over a decade of experience in IT, networking, data center, network architecture and service provider product management and international sales. Prior to joining BLADE, Charles led Nortel’s Embedded Switching Business Unit in the EMEA region and had sales, marketing, pre and post sales responsibility for the business in the region. He began his career as a senior network solutions specialist for TELUS, Canada’s second largest telecommunications service provider. Charles holds a B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Sciences from the University of Quebec and an MBA from the University of Wales.

 

Based in Melbourne, Australia, Peter Hall is responsible for the management of BLADE’s direct and OEM business in Asia Pacific and Japan. Peter is responsible overall for BLADE’s business results in Asia Pacific, providing leadership to the APJ sales and service teams. He is responsible for BLADE’s direct business with channel partners and customers, as well as the business development with OEM partners such as HP, IBM and NEC. Peter has over 28 years IT sales, sales management, and marketing experience across Asia Pacific and Japan, across a wide range of industries including manufacturing, retail, financial services, government, education, research, media and telecommunications. He spent 25 years at Hewlett-Packard in a variety of increasingly responsible sales and sales management positions, most recently as vice president of HP’s Business Critical Server organization in Asia Pacific, which he held prior to joining BLADE Network Technologies. Peter holds a B.A. in Business from the Phillip Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.