Fortinet's Australian channel chief Fiona Hodges departs to take on new role at Orange Sky Australia

Fortinet Australia is on the hunt for a new channel chief, following the departure of Fiona Hodges from the role.

Hodges, Fortinet’s head of channel for Australia since this time last year, has taken up the position of strategic partnership manager for Orange Sky Australia, an initiative that provides free laundry services to people experiencing homelessness.

"Fortinet was a fantastic opportunity for my career, gaining a director role from Brisbane," Hodges told CRN. "Cybersecurity is a fascinating arena and I've learned so much in the last three years.

"While the company is in growth mode, my journey is on personal growth and family. A move to not-for-profit gives me that in spades, using my skills to help empower people less fortunate, experiencing homelessness."

The cybersecurity vendor wished Hodges all the best going forward.

"We thank Fiona for her contribution to Fortinet’s channel efforts, and wish her well in the future. We are currently searching for Fiona’s replacement and will release details when appropriate," a Fortinet spokesperson said.

Fortinet had promoted Hodges from within to lead the local channel, replacing Genevieve White, who resigned in September 2017 to take a role at Telstra. In the role, Hodges drove the company’s local channel strategy, with a key focus on managed security service providers, systems integrators and mid-market partners, according to Fortinet.

Prior to leading the Aussie channel, Hodges was Fortinet’s national channel manager, a role she held since joining the company in 2015. Prior to that, Hodges was channel development manager for NetApp between July 2013 and and July 2015.

The experienced channel manager and sales expert has also worked in similar positions for SAN Systems, Quantum, Dialog IT, and SAP.

Joining Orange Sky will no doubt see Hodges leverage her partnership brokerage skills put to all new uses. Orange Sky Australia has expanded from one mobile laundry van in 2014 to 24 across Australia providing more than 6 tonnes of free laundry every week.