Channel leader James Bergl farewells Pax8

James Bergl has stepped away from his role as Pax8's Asia-Pacific (APAC) VP of communities and ecosystem after almost two years at the company.

Bergl joined Pax8 in 2022 as its VP of business development and was one of three executives to lead the US company’s expansion into Asia-Pacific.

That regional team now numbers 180 staff, and in 2023, Pax8 picked up the Small Distributor of the Year award at the CRN Impact Awards.

Bergl told CRN “it's been an absolute delight” to be part of the Pax8 team and that he left to spend time with his family.

"I have a son, a little six-month-old baby, so it's an opportunity for me to leave the business in a very good spot with trusted hands and have some time out with the family just while I think about what's next on the horizon," he said.

"Nothing is lined up at the moment. I wanted to make sure that all the t's were crossed and i's were dotted with Pax8 and that 110 per cent focus was given till the end."

Prior to Pax8, Bergl spent over six years as ANZ VP of Datto, where he helped launch the company’s Australian business in 2015.

He had previously served as APAC sales manager for N-Able Technologies (formerly Solarwinds MSP).

He also had stints at SaaS vendor Eloqua (now part of Oracle), Autotask (now part of Datto) and SAP.

Bergl reflected on his time at Pax8.

“In my previous roles with Datto I was part of the founding team and building that out from the ground up," he told CRN.

"So that's always been a passion of mine, is hiring and building high performance sales and go-to-market teams, and that's with high quality technology companies."

"That's what I saw at Pax8, and I would say that we've accelerated the growth and success of the organisation in the market, that we've grown significantly in that two-year period."

"From my perspective, what I've come to realise over the years is that I'm a startup guy; I love the startup from the ground up build, helping to get a structured team and process."

"[At Pax8] we did that at an accelerated pace and the team is absolutely flying at the moment, so I just thought it was a good opportunity to take some time out."

He said he leaves Pax8 “on great terms.”

"I have a strong, strong relationship with Chris Sharp my regional CEO boss," Bergl said.

"We had the conversation over the timeframe about [leaving Pax8] and they were very supportive, and it allows me to focus on other priorities and at the same time allows them to continue their growth."

“It's an opportunity for me to step away when it's a win for both sides; the business is strong, and I get to spend time with the new family.”