New Riverbed APJ VP of sales on his channel plans for the year

Paul Crighton shares how he aims to drive measurable growth and impact through their channel system.

AI observability platform Riverbed has appointed Paul Crighton as its new VP sales for the APJ region, where in his new role he aims to drive measurable growth and impact through their channel system.

He will also be responsible for driving Riverbed’s sales strategy and day-to-day operations in the APJ region, to deliver continued success across the company’s AI-powered Riverbed Platform, which includes AIOps, enterprise observability, and acceleration solutions.

Crighton said Riverbed is working towards enabling partners to take a leading role in delivering the company’s AI-powered solutions, particularly around observability and automation, into both enterprise and mid-market segments.

“This means giving our partners the tools, insights and support to deliver AI that works: solutions that move from proof-of-concept to production at scale,” he said.

Crighton explained how the channel is essential to how Riverbed goes to market, and partners are central to how they scale their presence, especially in APJ.

“They are the front line in delivering value to customers and ensuring that our solutions are implemented effectively and with strong ROI,” Crighton said.

“In particular, our channel will continue to lead on mid-market opportunities while supporting the expansion of Riverbed in large enterprise environments.”

According to Crighton, Riverbed’s goal is to deepen partner engagement by aligning around joint business outcomes.

“That's why we've invested in Riverbed ONE, our refreshed partner program, which is designed to drive partner-led growth through stronger technical enablement, simplified engagement, and more support from our pre-sales and solution architecture teams,” he explained.

“Success here is about delivering customer success that translates into shared growth for Riverbed and our partners.”

One of the most important trends is the demand for AI solutions that are practical, secure and deliver value out-of-the-box, Crighton said.

“We see partners in APJ increasingly shifting their conversations from ‘What is AI?’ to ‘How can AI deliver operational efficiency or reduce costs today?’

“We’re already seeing strong demand from our Managed Service Provider partners as they understand how we can help them run their managed services business much more efficiently and deliver a greater service to their end customers through improved employee productivity, security and compliance.”

Crighton said there's also growing interest in unified platforms over point solutions.

“Customers and partners alike are looking to reduce tool sprawl, manage performance across complex hybrid environments, and accelerate the rollout of AI initiatives,” he said.

In response to these trends, Riverbed is investing in partner enablement that goes beyond product.

“It's about use cases, technical acumen, and demonstrating business value. That includes training in AIOps strategy, workshops for AI configuration, and support to help partners build service practices around observability, acceleration, and digital experience,”

“The opportunity in APJ is significant, and our goal is to help partners lead the way in delivering high-impact, AI-driven transformation.”

Crighton has more than 25 years of experience in sales leadership experience across the technology industry, Crighton has led teams to deliver outstanding revenue growth, business expansion, and customer success.

Crighton joins Riverbed from Barracuda where he served as Managing Director. Prior to this, he held many senior sales leadership positions across NetApp; Blackberry; PGi; Symantec; and Intel Security/ McAfee.

He will report to Kris Luhrsen, chief revenue officer, at Riverbed.