The People

As President of the company, I am grateful on a daily basis for the people who work each day with one goal in mind: To ensure we have happy clients who are successful in achieving their marketing (and consequently sales) goals. It’s not always an easy job – economic conditions as they are and budgets are modest – but this group embraces the challenge. Good thing they’re smart, reliable, always learning more, and in the process, becoming part of the client’s trusted team.

Let me introduce you to some of them:

Cheryl Strege – President, Winemaker, and Rock Climber

Cheryl Strege started her career in this industry in 1989 with a little company in Fargo, North Dakota, that became Great Plains. Sixteen years of experience there and with Microsoft in a variety of partner-facing marketing roles was the best “incubator” for a marketing consulting organization. After leaving Microsoft in 2005, she spent 3 years consulting at The Partner Channel before starting her own company called The Partner Marketing Group. She has worked closely with large software publishers such as Microsoft and Sage, with manufacturers like Intel, and with all sizes of VARs and ISV organizations to:

She also has a depth of experience as a speaker, presenting at Great Plains Stampede, Great Plains Business Building Conferences, the Microsoft Global Sales Summit, Microsoft Regional Sales Workshops, the Direct Marketing to Business Conference, The Partner Event, Sage Summit, extreme CRM, vertical marketing workshops, and others. As one of only 12 vendors named as Partner Marketing Advisors for Microsoft worldwide, she understands the challenges resellers face and can deliver marketing programs and campaigns to maximize effectiveness.

Richard Mattson – Senior Consultant and Mental Health Therapist (in training)

With more than 25 years in technology marketing, and experience in nearly every marketing sub-discipline— program strategy, marketing communications, PR, trade shows and events, and market research—Richard is broadly equipped to re-develop your total marketing plan, define and drive a range of campaign initiatives, or dive deeply into key problem areas that need special troubleshooting. At whatever level, he is committed to delivering powerful and high-impact results.

A Microsoft alumnus who joined The Partner Marketing Group in early 2008, he spent much of the last decade creating programs targeting small and midsize companies supporting Microsoft business solutions. Shortly after the acquisition of Great Plains, he moved into thru-partner marketing and spearheaded initiatives for Microsoft Dynamics partners that often delivered results at 125-175% of prior benchmarks.

An area of specialty he’s developed over the past five years involves comprehensive relationship marketing strategy designed to support the complete business—from awareness generation through prospect development to existing customer optimization.

Michelle Glennie – Operations & Communications Manager, Arts & Crafts Enthusiast

Michelle Glennie has in-depth experience in the software industry since 2000. Her experience includes leadership in business development, operations, marketing and human resource management. Having worked at an ISV organization, she has a broad knowledge of how the technology channel of resellers and software publishers work. Her expertise includes:

At The Partner Marketing Group, she is head of operations and ensures everything runs smoothly on a daily basis. Michelle expertly leverages her thorough knowledge of the market, as well as business operations in a technology environment. Michelle is the person you want in your corner during any and every marketing or business situation.

Bethany Foyt – Writer, Project Manager, and Musician

Before joining The Partner Marketing Group in 2009, Bethany worked at Microsoft Corporation for three years helping Microsoft Dynamics partners with their marketing. You may recognize her name from managing and improving the following Microsoft partner programs: Jumpstart Webcasts, CRM Sales BDM Campaigns, VMAX, or the CRM Proof-of-Concept (POC) Program.

Since joining The Partner Marketing Group, Bethany has become an expert blogger, now managing three group blog sites for industry partners and writing over 30 blogs per month on behalf of clients. Bethany thoroughly enjoys helping companies communicate their message to their customers, prospects, and communities. She has experience in creating web copy, customer case studies, email/direct mail copy, business or industry whitepapers, product factsheets, and more. If “writing” is in the project description, she’s your gal!

Bethany holds a Bachelor of Arts in both English and Mass Communications with a minor in Music Performance from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Her experience includes leadership in:

Bethany’s work ethic, experience, and articulate writing style will be sure to benefit your organization.

Cheryl Salazar – Senior Consultant, Mom, and African Safari Guide

Cheryl Salazar, a native of South Africa, has more than 20 years of experience in technology and partner marketing. Cheryl has worked with and for a number of the largest software publishers and hardware manufacturers to bring their partner programs and product offerings to market, assisting them with the creation of sales tools & collateral, channel offerings, and scalable marketing engines to drive optimal return on investment. She is skilled in many disciplines including:

She is committed to working with partners who implement and resell ERP, CRM, Business Intelligence, Managed Services, and Platform Solutions from Microsoft, Intel, Epicor, Sage and SAP. She seeks to understand how partners focus their efforts, the seasonality of their business, and delivery of tailored plans to drive the appropriate results. Cheryl is a multi-talented individual with a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, is a trained safari guide, and can even assist you if you want to plan a trip to Africa!

Andrew Glennie – Project Manager, Technologist, and Bread Baker

With over 9 years of experience in the Microsoft Dynamics channel working as a project manager and product support technician with an ISV, Andrew has worked with partners at many different levels giving him deep insight into how the channel works. His background in Product Support helps him relate to what our clients are experiencing, and makes him The Partner Marketing Group’s coveted technical resource, helping us administer our technology needs as well as work hand-in-hand with clients.

Andrew’s expertise lies in Project and Program Management that align technology capabilities and operating specifications. His expertise also includes:

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a management concentration from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. His interests include cooking and brewing (mostly stout beer), and we would all agree his bread making skills never cease to amaze The Partner Marketing Group.