Barb Huelskamp Honored as a 2026 CRN® Channel Chief

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SolarWinds, a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software, proudly announced today that CRN®—a brand of The Channel Company—has selected Barb Huelskamp, Vice President of Global Channel and Alliances, for inclusion on the prestigious 2026 CRN® Channel Chiefs list. This annual recognition celebrates IT vendor and distribution executives who are shaping channel strategy and driving innovation and partnership across the industry.

Barb Huelskamp is the Vice President of Global Channel and Alliances at SolarWinds, where she leads strategies, programs, and teams aimed at driving growth and value through strategic partnerships. With over 25 years of leadership experience in global channel strategies and sales, Huelskamp has held key roles at Qualys, Alteryx, AWS, Polycom, and Jabra.

Her accomplishments include creating and optimizing partner programs and go-to-market strategies, activating global partner ecosystems for joint growth, and driving channel-led pipeline creation and sales.

Huelskamp has served as a board member for CRN’s Women of the Channel and mentors emerging professionals through various initiatives. Her impact has been recognized through several industry honors, including CRN’s Channel Chief, Women of the Channel, and Women in IT Security awards.

"I’m honored to be recognized as a CRN Channel Chief,” said Huelskamp. “This recognition highlights the strength of our partner-first ecosystem and our ongoing commitment to channel excellence, innovation, and shared success. We’re proud to empower our partners and customers to succeed together in today’s evolving IT landscape."

The annual CRN Channel Chiefs list spotlights the most influential leaders across the IT channel, celebrating those who champion collaboration, drive innovation, and empower their partners and customers to achieve shared success.

“Leaders recognized as CRN Channel Chiefs this year have demonstrated unwavering commitment to their partners and the broader IT channel. Their vision, passion and drive for innovation continue to shape the future of our industry. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and the positive impact they make every day,” said Jennifer Follett, Vice President, U.S. Content, Executive Editor, CRN.

CRN’s 2026 Channel Chiefs list will be featured on CRN.com beginning Feb. 2 at www.CRN.com/ChannelChiefs

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About SolarWinds

SolarWinds is a leading provider of simple, powerful, secure observability and IT management software built to enable customers to accelerate their digital transformation. Our solutions provide organizations worldwide—regardless of type, size, or complexity—with a comprehensive and unified view of today’s modern, distributed, and hybrid network environments. We continuously engage with IT service and operations professionals, DevOps and SecOps professionals, and database administrators (DBAs) to understand the challenges they face in maintaining high-performing and highly available hybrid IT infrastructures, applications, and environments. The insights we gain from them, in places like our THWACK community, allow us to address customers’ needs now and in the future. Our focus on the user and our commitment to excellence in end-to-end hybrid IT management have established SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in solutions for observability, IT service management, application performance, and database management. Learn more today at www.solarwinds.com.

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About The Channel Company

The Channel Company (TCC) is the global leader in channel growth for the world’s top technology brands. We accelerate success across strategic channels for tech vendors, solution providers, and end users with premier media brands, integrated marketing and event services, strategic consulting, and exclusive market and audience insights. TCC is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. For more information, visit thechannelco.com.

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© 2026 The Channel Company, Inc. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, Inc. All rights reserved.