When the official word came out of Dell Canada that Frank Fuser, the subsidiary’s first ever channel chief, had retired basically five weeks after accepting (on March 7th) a promotion to this post I wasn’t surprised.
Fuser’s retirement five weeks after being promoted to a senior position is incredibly hard to believe. One source close to the situation called Fuser’s announced retirement “strange.”
But, Fuser leaving the position is not a surprise because the channel was anticipating it. At a recent channel event last month many partners speculated that Fuser was not long for the job.
I wrote a blog suggesting that Fuser was in for an uphill battle because of his lack of channel experience. I interviewed Fuser shortly after his promotion and from his responses sounded quite competent. His strategy of winning over the channel one reseller at time may have sounded hokey, but it is the only plan available to the company given its history. During the interview I asked him questions about his channel experience and his channel advocacy. Both responses where based on the company’s objectives instead of his own personal background or approach.
Fuser told me the channel job excited him and that he wanted to help Dell take it to the next level. He added that he had confidence in his abilities to convey Dell’s message and opportunity to the channel.
We even set up a lunch date to further discuss this new formula. The lunch was later postponed and never rescheduled, which made me think Fuser was not long for the channel job.
I asked Greg Davis if Fuser’s lack of channel experience had anything to do with the decision to leave Dell Canada. Davis said that it wasn’t and then reverted back to the official company line that Fuser retired.
I do not know Fuser’s age, but from his photo he doesn’t look like he’s pushing 65.
If Fuser resurfaces at another company then Dell Canada looks horrible by claiming that he retired.
Davis will be taking over Fuser’s duties and I think it’s a smart move on his part because he was Dell’s Canadian president for two years and established solid relationships while he was here. Plus as it stands right now he has the most channel experience in the company.
Davis said that he now has a North American approach for Dell’s channel commitment rather than a U.S. one and a separate Canadian one. This is an interesting approach and we shall see if it works.
You can’t help but feel sorry for Fuser. He may have had some channel experience, but he does not have enough channel experience for this market. For Dell to gain any kind of foothold in the channel you need someone who has many years of experience.
I wish him luck in his future endeavours.
