Lumen Channel boss Dave Young retires | CRN

June 01, 2023, 6:08 pm EDT

As the two-year channel leader of the telecom giants retires at the end of the month, Sara Seegers, regional vice president of indirect sales at Lumens, will take the helm in the meantime.

Dave Young, head of channel at Lumen Technologies, will retire from the company at the end of June, Lumen told CRN on Thursday.

Sara Seegers, Lumen’s regional vice president of indirect channel sales and opportunity management, meanwhile will step up to lead channels for the company, according to the telecom giant formerly known as CenturyLink.

Seegers will report to Jay Barrows, Lumen’s executive vice president of corporate sales and public sector who joined the company in February, effective June 1, the Monroe, La.-based company said.

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Young, who has been the channel chief for the past two years, plans to retire at the end of the month to spend more time with his family and friends, a Lumen spokesperson told CRN.

“Words cannot properly describe how honored I am to have had the opportunity to recently lead Lumen’s amazing indirect team and do business with you, our amazing channel partners,” Young said in a note to partners. “Our partners are the future of Lumen. The company’s focus on enabling your success and our joint sales growth is greater than ever. Lumen’s commitment and investment in the channel has never been stronger.”

Telecommunications veteran Young has been with Lumen, CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications for the past 21 years and has held a variety of positions for the companies. He has spent time in government, public sector and hyperscaler companies. Under Young’s leadership, Lumen’s indirect team was brought together with the company’s System Integrator, Hyperscaler and Digital Ventures groups as a way to help the company better serve end customers through partnerships with other vendors and partners. according to Lumen.

“I want to thank [Young] for all of the amazing things he’s accomplished during his 20-plus year career with the company,” Barrows said in a statement. “Dave has dedicated his career to serving our clients, and their missions and goals, with tremendous energy, enthusiasm, foresight and acumen.His strategic approach has enabled us to grow significantly and gain market share in several key areas of our business, including the public sector and indirect routes to market.”

Seegers, also a veteran of Lumen, CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications, has served telecommunications companies for the past 13 years in a variety of roles. Prior to her most recent appointment as regional vice president of indirect sales for Lumen, she served as vice president and general manager for CenturyLink’s Heartland region.

Lumen CEO Kate Johnson, during Lumen’s first 2023 earnings call in February, said she saw this year as a “reset year” as the company, which has struggled to gain financial footing over the past two years, it has made ambitious moves to grow through divestiture while making internal investments in high-growth areas such as managed security, secure access service (SASE), and unified communications (UC) and collaboration.

Seegers, for his part, told CRN in March that the company had gone from “channel-friendly” to “channel-focused” in just a few months.

“The support we have, from our CEO and CFO who have a great track record from other organizations dependent on the channel they come from, has resonated very well with our brokers and solution partners,” he said.