Riedel Communications has expanded its Americas sales team with the appointment of Todd Gardner as Channel Manager of North America as well as James Skupien and Ben Gabrielson in Regional Sales Manager roles.
Gardner joins the company with years of channel management experience, and he will take the helm from Dave Caulwell, who has managed and grown the channel — along with the Riedel RED program — in North America for years. Caulwell will move up into a new position as Regional Sales Director of East.
“We are fortunate to have someone as experienced as Todd taking the reins of the channel program so that I may confidently move on to manage the eastern region sales team,” stated Caulwell. “Our Riedel RED program is growing, and I am certain that Todd will continue to build momentum around our vigorous program. He has a tremendous track record, and I am thrilled to have him on our team.”
Prior to joining Riedel, Gardner worked for more than 20 years at Grass Valley, where he held various roles including account manager, channel manager, and finally director of channel sales. He managed internal teams covering proposals, customer service, and fulfilment for high-profile customers and partners. During this time, he received several awards for his sales efforts.
“I am looking forward to taking over the reins from Dave and excited, and even a little anxious, to be starting with a new company after so many years with Grass Valley,” stated Gardner “Riedel is an energised company with great culture, innovative technology, and a bright future. I am thrilled to be part of the team.”
As Caulwell took on the responsibility of managing the team of eastern regional sales managers, the western region picked up two new territory managers. Skupien, based in Chicago, will serve as Regional Sales Manager of North Central, and Gabrielson, based in Arizona, will serve as Regional Sales Manager of South Central.
Skupien is a well-known Sales Manager with a solid breadth of knowledge, having worked at many companies in the industry including BTS, Dell, Grass Valley, AWS Elemental, AVI, Bitcentral, and, most recently, Vizrt. Gabrielson hails from the internet and streaming side of the business, having worked at Stretch Internet and LiveU as director of business development and sales manager for sports, respectively. Prior to joining Riedel, he worked at Evertz, where he was a sales manager for sports on the West Coast.
“I am thrilled to add these three new powerhouse employees, making our strong team even stronger. Todd’s track record, Jim’s experience and connections, and Ben’s expertise within a different area of the business adds breadth and knowledge the whole team can benefit from,” stated Rich Zabel, VP Sales of North America. “We’ve spent a lot of time searching for the right people to fill these positions and I am extremely happy with the team we are building.”