Avaya's Carol Giles Neslund Recognized by Everything Channel's CRN Magazine as One of the Top 100 Women in the Channel


BASKING RIDGE, NJ--(Marketwire - August 25, 2009) - Avaya, a global leading provider of business communications systems, software and services, today announced that Carol Giles Neslund, vice president, North American Channel, has been recognized by Everything Channel's CRN Magazine as one of the Top 100 Women in the Channel. The Top 100 Women in the Channel was chosen by the editors of the magazine based on their achievements as executives and the amount of influence they wield over the technology channel. The Top 100 Women in the Channel represent a changing trend in a traditionally all male industry.

Neslund has over eight years' experience working with channel organizations. Since coming to Avaya nearly a year ago, she has led the implementation of Avaya's High Touch, Channel Centric program in North America with the objective to substantially increase the percentage of sales made through channel partners. She has been instrumental in launching a streamlined global channel framework and a major advocate for enabling Avaya VARs to capitalize on the demand for real-time communications. Neslund also participates in several organizations that help girls and young women develop strong leadership skills, including Women's Vision Foundation and Women's Wilderness.

"We are very pleased to see women executives reaching the highest levels in a wide range of dynamic companies. It is with great pleasure that we honor the women that have made a profound impact in the technology marketplace. We offer our congratulations to Carol Neslund for her significant contributions to our industry," Robert C. DeMarzo, senior vice president and editorial director, Everything Channel.

"Carol has demonstrated clear leadership at the forefront of a wave of enhancements to the Avaya Channel program in this past year," said Vin La Rocca, president, North America Field Operations, Avaya. "More importantly, she's been a champion for helping channel partners improve their businesses as well as understand how the core value in Avaya's unified communications and contact center solutions can help their customers. As a result, they are seeing increased opportunities and success."

A special feature of the Top 100 Women of the Channel is in the August issue of CRN Magazine and expanded coverage will be featured online at www.channelweb.com.

About Avaya

Avaya is a global leader in enterprise communications systems. The company provides unified communications, contact centers, and related services directly and through its channel partners to leading businesses and organizations around the world. Enterprises of all sizes depend on Avaya for state-of-the-art communications that improve efficiency, collaboration, customer service, and competitiveness. For more information please visit www.avaya.com.

Everything Channel (www.everythingchannel.com, www.channelweb.com)

Everything Channel is the one-stop shop for accessing, enabling, managing and accelerating technology sales. From branding and recruiting to marketing and sales, Everything Channel offers technology marketers the unmatched breadth and depth of global brands and market intelligence combined with unparalleled audience loyalty and credibility serving all technology sales channels through an extensive database. Everything Channel provides innovative field sales and marketing solutions to arm the sellers of technology with the resources they need to achieve measurable and significant results.

About United Business Media Limited (www.unitedbusinessmedia.com)

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities -- from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists -- with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

Contact Information: Contacts Maureen Park Everything Channel (516) 562-5942 mpark@everythingchannel.com Deb Kline Avaya (908) 953 6179 klined@avaya.com