The GTIA North America Community & Councils Forum & Spotlight Awards brought together IT channel leaders from across the region for two days of connection, collaboration and big announcements. Grounded in GTIA’s four pillars of people, resources, community and advancement, the meeting showcased how collective action drives meaningful industry impact. From new programs and research to expanded community platforms and recognition of outstanding member contributions, one thing is clear: There’s never been a more important time to come together as a community. If you couldn’t join us in Chicago, here’s what you missed!
The Channel Effect Unleashed: Key GTIA Announcements
The GTIA North America Community & Councils Forum opened with an energizing executive keynote centered on “The Channel Effect,” spotlighting the power of collective innovation and growth. GTIA CEO Dan Wensley set the tone: “GTIA is all about innovation. We are listening and we are here to grow,” reinforcing the organization’s mission to deliver more value for more members—across careers, businesses and customer impact.
Building on that momentum, chief channel officer Nancy Hammervik unveiled new vendor membership tiers, including enhanced vendor directory pages in the Member Portal designed to boost visibility and strengthen ITSP–vendor connections.
Chief community officer MJ Shoer followed with several major community‑driven initiatives. He introduced PeerTrust Circles—confidential, small‑group communities for peer benchmarking, best‑practice sharing and leadership development. Shoer also announced the upcoming GTIA Discord community hub, launching in mid‑April, and a new partnership with Texas A&M’s Global Cyber Research Institute to create the Consortium for Responsible IT Services, giving members an active role in identifying gaps and shaping future industry standards.
Chief operating officer Kelly Ricker closed the keynote with two big announcements: The expansion of GTIA’s philanthropic giving to $5 million in 2026 (see No. 2!) and the opening of registration for ChannelCon 2026, taking place August 3–5 in San Diego.
A Force for Good: GTIA Commits $5M to Charitable Giving in 2026
GTIA announced a major expansion of its philanthropic commitment, increasing charitable giving to $5 million in 2026—more than double the 2025 investment. This includes a significant rise in member-directed giving, now totaling $700,000, reinforcing that GTIA membership directly fuels technology as a force for good. Members can get involved in two ways: through grantmaking, with Cycle 1 now open through May 1 and offering $2 million exclusively to nonprofits and schools referred by GTIA members, and through member-directed giving, where each member group has $50,000 to allocate to eligible organizations. Learn more.
New State of the Channel 2026 Research
Carolyn April, vice president of research and market intelligence at GTIA unpacked the findings of the new GTIA State of the Channel 2026 research. One theme rises above the rest: The industry has entered a true AI inflection point—one where adoption is no longer a differentiator, but maturity is. Growth remains steady yet intentionally measured, reflecting a market where discipline and execution separate leaders from those falling behind. And despite predictions of consolidation, the channel continues to operate as a hybrid ecosystem, defined more by complex business models than convergence. This year’s findings capture a channel not just evolving, but sharpening its focus as it moves from inflection to execution. Read more.
Where Your Channel Story Begins: The NowGen Interest Group Launch
The launch of the GTIA NowGen Interest Group brought together early-career professionals and seasoned channel leaders for an open, story-driven conversation about navigating the IT channel. Eric Torres, vice president of community and channel engagement at Pax8 and Mike Campion, sales director, Canada at Inforcer, encouraged attendees to “work the room” and build genuine relationships. The pair reminded everyone that the channel is small and your network is one of your most valuable assets. After hearing their stories, participants broke into table groups to share their own journeys into the IT channel, reinforcing the core message of NowGen: Your personal brand and your network shape your future in this industry. Want to get involved in the NowGen Interest Group? Contact North America community manager, Adam Proulx.
A Year of Cyber Progress: 2025 Wins and What’s Coming Next
GTIA’s Cybersecurity Programs closed out 2025 with significant momentum, reinforcing their core mission: Helping ITSPs strengthen security postures while unlocking new revenue opportunities through the GTIA Information Sharing & Analysis Organization (ISAO) and the GTIA Cybersecurity Trustmark. This year’s update highlighted key transitions within the ISAO, including new threat‑intelligence platforms, and showcased impressive community growth. Looking ahead to 2026, GTIA is expanding its support with a quarterly global ITSP cybersecurity report developed in tandem with GTIA research, which will focus on asking the right questions; and new quarterly virtual tabletop exercise cohorts, limited to just 20 ITSP members per session, designed to help team apply best practices in real-world scenarios.
This year’s meeting also featured a third‑party vendor risk management workshop, where participants collaborated to build Trustmark‑aligned TPVM frameworks and walked away with practical tools—including vendor‑risk checklists, scoring models and governance workflows—to strengthen their organizational security posture.
Turning Hidden Talent into Visible Leadership
This session, hosted by the Global Women in Technology Interest Group, dug into one of the most persistent challenges in tech leadership pipelines: High‑potential employees—especially women—often stall not because of capability, but because of low visibility, unclear pathways and a lack of true advocacy. Renee McCloden, global senior director of vendor strategy and programs at Pax8 and Katherine Gray, operations manager at Warren Averett Technology Group explored how talent actually moves inside organizations, identified where their current systems fall short and walked away with a practical blueprint they can activate this quarter.
Growth Exposes Everything: AI in Real ITSP Operations
AI is everywhere in the ITSP world, but how much of it is actually changing how you operate? Far from the hype cycles that often shape industry conversation, this session, featuring moderator Jennifer Roy, CEO, Nucleus alongside Hank Dallam, CEO, NetGain Technologies; Callen Sapien, CEO/CTO, Synthreo and Hexi Xiao, CEO, Bumblebee, shared real stories from leaders who have been deep in the trenches of AI adoption. The group shared successes and failures that are all too relatable with ITSPs and MSPs navigating the AI landscape. Read more.
Succession & Strategy: Planning Exits, Mergers and Long-Term Value
Moderated by Hank Dallam, CEO of NetGain Technologies, with panelists Sarah Ahmed and Vicky Bruns, M&A leaders at Evergreen Services Group, and Brent Williams, CEO of The AME Group, this session explored how ITSPs can navigate a rapidly consolidating market and prepare for successful exits or acquisitions. The panel emphasized that real valuation is driven by sustainable organic growth, recurring revenue, leadership depth, strong contracts and operational discipline—not just scale or flashy multiples. Attendees left with practical guidance on when to start planning, how to evaluate internal succession vs. external sale and what actions owners can take today to build optionality and maximize long‑term business value.
Congrats! 2026 North America Spotlight Award Winners
Congrats to this impressive list of highly engaged GTIA members who are making a difference!
Read more about our North America Spotlight Awards program and recipients.
New GTIA Mentorship Program Cohort Launches April 1
One of GTIA’s most sought‑after initiatives is back—our next North America Mentorship Program cohort was officially unveiled in Chicago and will kick off on April 1. This year’s cohort is already full, underscoring just how popular the program has become for members looking to accelerate career growth, build leadership confidence and form meaningful industry connections. Even if you’re not in this round, keep an eye out: The mentorship program continues to grow, and future cohorts fill up fast. Read more.
But Wait, There’s More!
More opportunities to recognize outstanding contributions to the IT channel!
2025-2026 Member of the Year: Nominations Open
The GTIA Member of the Year Award recognizes a single member who, in the prior 12 months, demonstrated outstanding service, leadership and impact through their commitment, passion and professionalism. It is the most prestigious acknowledgment that the GTIA community bestows on one of its own members. Nominate now.
2026 Cecilia Galvin Scholarship: Nominations Open
The $5,000 USD Cecilia Galvin Scholarship, presented by GTIA and The ChannelPro Network, a CyberRisk Alliance Resource, will be awarded to a senior high school student with a 2.0 or higher GPA, who is a leader in their school and community and has demonstrated an early interest in technology. The scholarship can be applied to a two or four-year college program, trade school or professional certification and training program in the technology space within the United States. Nominate now.
Register Now for ChannelCon 2026
On to the next meeting! North America Community & Council Forum participants were among the first to be able to register for ChannelCon 2026, taking place August 3-5 in San Diego at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. ChannelCon is where the IT channel convenes for real conversations, real deals and real growth. Register for ChannelCon 2026.
If you attended the North America Community & Councils Forum & Spotlight Awards, share your photos on social using #WeAreGTIA!
