Show Notes
At the recent ChannelScaler event in Palo Alto, Lori Cornmesser, most recently VP of Channels and Alliances at 1Password, joined me to share how she’s building a modern partner strategy for one of the world’s most recognized consumer security brands. After more than a decade in enterprise networking and cybersecurity, including leadership roles at Juniper Networks and Infoblox, Lori knows what it takes to build partner ecosystems that deliver both growth and trust. When she joined 1Password about a year ago, her mission was clear – to take a company loved by consumers and build a thriving enterprise and channel business around it. “1Password is a brand people already know,” she said. “Now it’s about taking that brand into businesses through partners – resellers, MSPs, distributors, and technology alliances.” Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Scaling with Focus For Lori, success starts with focus. She organizes partners not just by type, but by which customer segment they serve best. “I always begin with the customer in mind,” she explained. “What customers are we trying to serve – SMB, commercial, enterprise – and which partner profiles best serve those customers.” From there, she names go-to partners by segment, giving both sellers and partners clarity on who owns what. “I want my partners to have confidence that I’ve named them to be the go-to-market partner for SMB, enterprise, or federal. Everyone wants to understand the role they’re playing. The faster we get aligned on that, the faster we can go.” AI, Simplicity, and Experimentation At the event, AI was a major theme. Lori noted that many in the room were still trying to separate hype from action. “The biggest takeaway for me was that some vendors and partners are already putting AI into practice,” she said. “You don’t have to solve everything on day one. Make a decision to do something, start from there, and scale.” Her philosophy for channel programs mirrors that same spirit of simplicity and progress. “Ease of doing business has to be at the core,” Lori said. “Keep programs simple, align on roles, and start experimenting.” Measuring What Matters As a “scrappy channel chief” with a sales background, Lori keeps her eyes on what ultimately drives value: revenue. “Everything else is moderately interesting,” she laughed. “At the end of the day, it’s about whether we’re getting into new logos, new markets, and driving revenue – whether it’s partner-sourced, influenced, or assisted.” That “assisted” category is something Lori thinks the industry should pay more attention to. It’s the middle ground between direct and sourced – where a partner helps accelerate or unblock a deal already in motion. “We should grant them some level of discount or recognition for that,” she said. “That’s how we foster collaboration.” Partnering for Growth 1Password’s next phase of growth will come through expanding partnerships globally, with distribution in Europe and Asia Pacific playing key roles. “We’ve chosen the right distributor partners to help us grow in those regions,” she said. “It’s about thoughtful expansion and the right local relationships.” Lori’s career has spanned both large and fast-growing companies, and she brings that perspective to 1Password’s channel journey. “Each partner type has a different starting point,” she explained. “You can’t apply one playbook to all. Build playbooks based on the partner’s role and the customer they serve.” Her approach is both practical and deeply human – centered on clarity, collaboration, and consistent motion. “If you focus on alignment, ease, and measurement,” Lori said, “you build confidence on both sides. That’s what accelerates growth.” 🎙️ Inside Partnering is a podcast for ecosystem builders, alliance leaders, and the people shaping the future of partnerships. Let’s build the future of partnering - together. 🎧 Want more conv
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At Sage FUTURE in San Francisco, I sat down with Dan Miller, EVP of Financials and ERP at Sage, to talk about how Sage is thinking about AI, ecosystem partnerships, and the future of ERP platforms. One of the clearest themes from the conversation was this: finance leaders are not resisting AI. They simply want transparency, accountability, and confidence in the outputs. For partner leaders, ISVs, and ecosystem builders, that creates a very different opportunity than the generic “AI transformation” messaging dominating the market right now. Dan framed it around trust. “What finance and operations professionals really want is confidence in the tools that they’re deploying are doing exactly what they are expected to do.” That requirement shapes how Sage is building both its AI capabilities and its broader partner ecosystem. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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At Sage FUTURES in San Francisco, Gretchen O’Hara delivered a clear message to partners: the market is shifting fast - and the opportunity is massive. But despite the noise around AI, one thing hasn’t changed. Partners are still at the center of how businesses win. “The channel is one of the most important things because our partners are the ones that have the deepest industry expertise and are closest to customers that can really solve their unique, unique business challenges.” AI may accelerate execution, but it doesn’t replace the need for domain expertise, customer proximity, and trusted advisory. In fact, it amplifies it. Inside Partnering is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.