The Channel Company Expands Its Portfolio of Initiatives Supporting Women in Technology

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., Sept. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Channel Company is expanding its robust portfolio of initiatives designed to empower women in technology and support their ongoing advancement in the IT industry. The company has just launched a new Women of the Channel™ website (http://wotc.crn.com) and will debut its first Women of the Channel Europe (WOTC Europe) (http://www.thechannelco.com/events/wotceu16/about) event in Barcelona, Spain on November 9-10.

The event and website are central components of The Channel Company's fast-growing group of Women of the Channel (WOTC) initiatives, a response to increasing demand for more and better support, resources and leadership opportunities for women professionals in the technology sector. The project began in 2008 with a single list of 25 women called the "VARBusiness Most Powerful Women of the Channel." Women of the Channel has since grown to include a total of four separate CRN® lists recognizing over 200 channel leaders and up-and-coming IT professionals each year, as well as two high-profile, annual WOTC Leadership Summit conferences.

"The Channel Company is proud to be at the forefront of a growing movement to recognize women's vast contribution to the IT community and promote their increased professional advancement in the channel," said Lisa MacKenzie, partner and senior vice president, The Channel Company. "For years we have been leading the push to identify and celebrate the many women whose hard work and ingenuity have a profound impact on the IT channel every day. We are excited about the future of Women of the Channel and will continue our mission to empower women in technology though our events, online community and CRN lists."

The Channel Company's WOTC live events have consistently grown in size in response to steeply increased demand; over the past seven years, attendance across the events has more than tripled (from a mere 120 guests at the very first event to nearly 800 in 2016), gaining huge momentum in what has historically been a male-dominated IT industry. The WOTC Europe conference in November will introduce Women of the Channel to the European technology sector, bringing together influential women from solution provider, technology supplier and distributor organizations across key European markets to tackle pressing business technology issues and assess the state of today's global IT channel. Keynote speakers at WOTC Europe will include:

• Sahar Hashemi, co-founder of Coffee Republic and Skinny Candy
• Rita Clifton, former chief executive and chairman of Interbrand
• Helen Rutherford, founder of Lead a Market

Another arm of the Women of the Channel project, the wotc.crn.com website launched under the well-established CRN brand, is designed to connect the activities and objectives of the various WOTC initiatives, gathering them together under the canopy of a broader, more permanent community forum. The site bridges the gaps between intermittent WOTC lists and events, making them part of a larger, more inclusive, and ongoing discourse on technology, business and work-life blend from women's point of view. To encourage the kind of open and lively exchange of ideas that has become the hallmark of the WOTC events, the site invites registrants to build individual site profiles and create their own, original blogs. 

To learn more about Women of the Channel online, visit: wotc.crn.com
To learn about upcoming Women of the Channel events, visit: www.thechannelco.com/events
To view CRN's Women of the Channel lists, visit: http://www.crn.com/wotc2016 
Follow us on social media: Twitter - @WOTChannel  |  Facebook - "Women of the Channel"

About The Channel Company
The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

Contact
Melanie Turpin
The Channel Company
508.416.1195
mturpin@thechannelco.com

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SOURCE The Channel Company