Vendor Influencers: The New Category on the Block

Blog by Paul Greenberg

I wrote this sitting at the Toronto airport about a month ago. I had just spent the day before on one of the best panels I ever sat on at the launch of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 in Canada. Not only was it run by Frank Falcone, Microsoft’s CRM lead in Canada and a rising star in his own right (ALERT, this comment has bearing on this post) but the panels were primo folks. First and foremost, at least in my mind, was my buddy, Brian Solis (who is not only incredibly influential but a great, great guy), and Umberto Milletti, CEO of InsideView (ALERT again: Bearing on the post). Additionally, two guys I hadn’t met before but am now really glad I did, Jordan Banks, managing director of Facebook Canada and employee #2 at eBay, and Jonathan Lister, LinkedIn’s Managing Director for Canada and Latin America The dynamics (pun sorta intended) of the panel were outstanding and its refreshing (ALERT! Bearing on the post) that the content was not focused on a product pitch at all, but in fact, was genuinely valuable for the 900 attendees. Also, there was terrific chemistry which I thought was a key driver of this. Brian and I were treated as a team and that was a great move frankly. We had quite the chemistry. In fact, given that I’m older, I’m thinking of adopting him as a younger brother. (kidding….mostly)

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