Rohner & Associates Team Biographies
As a result of their experience, knowledge and focus in the business of channels, the partners at Rohner & Associates address client needs with skill and confidence, and deliver real time, real world, measurable results.

Julie Knight provides project data collection and situation analysis for any type of Rohner & Associates engagement. Since joining the firm in 1998, she has focused on scenario modeling, metrics development and marketing program development as it relates to the product proposition.

Julie has over 15 years experience in the computer industry in channel development, product marketing and management, market development and strategic product planning. At Xbridge Systems, a developer of mainframe data access solutions, she was responsible for designing and implementing the company’s “go to market” strategy for penetrating Fortune 1000 accounts. In addition, she launched the company’s first .NET capable host-to-desktop product.

Prior to Xbridge she was Director of Channel Marketing for NeTpower, an Intel-based workstation and server vendor. At NeTpower, she was responsible for architecting and managing NeTpower’s vertical VAR channel. She was also instrumental in launching digital media-based products as well as structuring key ISV partnerships with Avid, Autodesk, and Kodak. Julie has held product management, product marketing, and alliance management positions at SGI and Radius.

Julie’s combination of product, market and channel expertise in leading high technology segments provides a wide perspective on the requirements and methods of product success through optimization of the channels mix.

Stuart is a channel journeyman with unique experience and expertise.  He is a lawyer and expert in distribution law.  Stuart has been leading initiatives and supporting the high technology industry for over 20 years, assisting technology companies in the design, implementation, operation and transition of their sales and marketing channels. This includes establishing compliance programs for monitoring internal and external channel activity, compliance boards for reviewing and adjudicating allegations of improper channel partner and employee conduct related to channel activity, and enforcement programs that utilize intellectual property and contract law to shut down illegal gray market and broker activity.

Stuart served in-house for ten years as Sun Microsystems General Counsel for Worldwide Sales, managing a legal organization responsible for all aspects of ongoing and prospective commercial operations. This included working closely with Ron Rohner in the overhaul and implementation of Sun's world-wide channel architecture. In addition to providing legal expertise, Stuart has a wide range of functional and senior management experience in areas including channel engineering, vendor leasing, strategy and investment, strategic negotiations, and product development and marketing.

Stuart has served as special counsel for the government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and, while at Fenwick & West, as a consultant to the United States and Canadian Chambers of Commerce. He has authored such diverse publications as the "Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal Act of 1987," Competition and Antidumping Laws in the Context of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (Ontario, 1991), and "Developments in Antitrust: Exclusionary Aspects of Licensing" (1990).

Peiman Amoukhteh specializes in developing simulators, statistical models, and analytical tools. These tools help develop and communicate the channel strategy, as well as providing the client with an interactive tool for evaluating their own channel strategy parameters and alternatives.

Peiman has 20 years of industry experience in engineering, engineering management and corporate management. He has strong problem-solving and analytical skills, and extensive experience in statistics, systems dynamics, six-sigma, and theory of constraint. Peiman was President and COO of Comtel Electronics, was founder and CEO of S2i2, Inc. and was Director of Advanced Technology Group at Solectron Corporation.

At Comtel Electronics, Peiman was responsible for the day-to-day operations; as well as performing due diligence on acquisition targets. At S2i2, an ISV, he co-developed and marketed a Quality Management System for discrete manufacturing and at Solectron he pioneered the company’s efforts into high-density interconnects. Peiman is also a frequent lecturer on systems dynamics, statistics, and process / product reliability.

James Cape has been working in the Silicon Valley high technology industry since 1983.  During his first seventeen years he worked at Intel Corporation where he gained broad experience in a variety of sales and marketing positions including building Intel’s Enterprise Platform Group to a $1.5B business in less than 18 months through major OEMs, systems builders and white box makers; and developing key alliances with ~300 ISVs including industry leaders SAP, Oracle, Seibel, Novell, SCO, Rational and BEA.

In 2001 James left Intel to form a consulting practice focused primarily on channel program development, channel/market analysis, product launch (preparation and execution), marketing program development and “best practices” creation around key sales and marketing processes.  Client engagements include IBM, Intel, SanDisk, SGI and Phoenix Technologies.  James has been closely affiliated with Rohner and Associates since 2002.  Examples of clients James has focused on are projects at Network Appliance, Sun, Cisco, Seagate and NetManage.

As a seasoned channel professional, James has had many experiences working with a broad variety of partner types in both commercial and retail channels and is adept at linking product strategy to channel strategy while developing practical programs that positively impact partner behavior.

John joins Rohner and Associates with over 25 years of experience in the software and technology industry, with a vast and diverse background spanning all aspects of channels, operations, business development, independent consulting, professional services and technology.

Most recently John was with BearingPoint, where he was responsible for managing all BearingPoint partnership activities with SAP throughout North America, and further enhanced the partnership by establishing a Go-To-Market program between BearingPoint and SAP, earning Preferred Partner status for BearingPoint with SAP. In addition to BearingPoint, since 2000 John has held senior leadership positions in channels management and operations at Borland Software, Business Objects and SAP America, and has created channel strategy programs and developed and managed global channel and alliance partnerships.

From 1982 to 2000, John focused on the professional services and technology side of the software industry and spent over 5 years at Oracle Corporation and over 8 years at ASK Computer Systems, in addition to owning his own consulting and services firm. John also has extensive experience in the High Tech, Electronics, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Manufacturing industries, as well as having worked with clients in the Telecommunications, Financial Services, Retail, and Healthcare markets.  John’s cross-functional experience also ranges across lines of business such as Customer Relationship Management, ERP, Business Intelligence, and Supply Chain Management.

A seasoned sales and channels executive, Miles has spent the majority of his career building and implementing quality driven profit channels around the world. With an emphasis on providing customers true business insight and competitive advantage, Miles has created major strategic change programs that focus on driving revenue and field alignment with channels and alliances partners. 

Most recently, Miles served as Vice President of Global Alliances and Channels at SAS Institute, Inc. the world’s largest privately-held software company. While at SAS, Miles developed and implemented channel sales programs with Global System Integrators, Global ISV’s, OEM partners, Service Providers, and Channel/Value-Added Resellers in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific/Japan, Latin America and Canada. Utilizing his philosophy to “Think Globally and Act Locally”, Miles established key distribution hubs in China, India, Russia and Singapore that resulted in 75 key resellers in Asia and the Middle East, and over 400 key reseller sales people trained through the reseller-training center in India. Miles was responsible for generating over $100 Million in channels revenue in 2007 and $150 Million in 2008, in addition to driving over $150 Million of revenue influenced by the global channel partners.

Miles has over 15 years experience in leading and managing channel programs across the Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management, ERP and Financial Services industries, and has previously held senior leadership positions at Borland Software, SAP America, Crystal Decisions, and Business Objects, where he served as Vice President of Alliances and Channels.