2022 Lifetime Achievement
Award Winner

Rod Baptie received the inaugural Channel Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, honoring his dedication to building and enriching the channel community. As the Founder and CEO of Baptie & Co., he has been at the forefront of the Channel Focus Conference since 1998, uniting channel practitioners from around the world. 

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Baptie's journey in the tech industry began in 1984 as a co-owner of a London-based advertising agency specializing in high-tech. In 1993, he founded Baptie & Co., which quickly became the world's largest organizer of conferences focused on sales and marketing for senior executives in technology and telecommunications. 

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In 1998, Baptie & Co. launched Channel Focus, a community and conference exclusively for tech channel practitioners to exchange ideas, share best practices, and build lasting relationships. Channel Focus swiftly grew to become—and still remains—the premier conference for channel executives. 

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Over the years, Baptie expanded Channel Focus to include the Channel Focus Women’s Leadership Council, dedicated to empowering women in the channel through events, mentoring, and networking. Since its inception in 2012, the group has inspired and supported hundreds of women to advance in their careers in an industry traditionally dominated by men. 

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Baptie also founded the Channel Executive Council and Club Next as exclusive extensions of Channel Focus. These invite-only groups bring together the most esteemed channel executives from the world’s largest tech companies to network, collaborate, and share insights. 

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Rod Baptie’s unwavering commitment to the channel community has positively impacted the lives and careers of thousands over nearly three decades. A proud Scot, he spends most of his time in his native Scotland with his dogs, continuing to serve and inspire the channel community.