… John Turner VP North American Sales, FalconStor

FalconStor Software, Inc. has hired former Symantec sales executive John W. Turner as vice president of North American sales.

 Turner formerly served as the vice president of EMEA sales at Symantec, where he oversaw the business technology sales arm for Symantec’s $2 billion European commercial business. In his new role, Turner will be responsible for building a world-class sales organization that will work closely with and support FalconStor’s expanding channel partner network. Turner will focus on attracting top talent and employing proven best practices that should accelerate sales of FalconStor solutions.

Turner has more than twenty years of successful experience driving sales in high-growth markets, creating new business opportunities and effectively managing large sales organizations. Prior to Symantec, Turner was senior director of Western U.S. Emerging Solutions at VERITAS Software. Before that, Turner worked in executive sales roles at Gartner, including vice president of sales for Gartner CIO Programs, the analyst firm’s fastest growing business. Prior to entering the technology industry, he spent seven years in the financial services industry. His last role was working with private banking clients for Chase Manhattan Bank in Silicon Valley.

"John is joining FaconStor at a very exciting time. We have the opportunity to reinvent and define the next generation of data protection solutions that can ensure the continuity of critical data center services," said Jim McNiel, president and CEO of FalconStor. "We have launched an initiative for excellence in every area of our business with the intention of designing, delivering and supporting the most innovative and highest quality products in the industry. Bringing John on board to recharge our Americas sales organization is a key part of that initiative. With John’s drive, intelligence and leadership, I am confident we can meet our objectives this year."

"FalconStor has a strong vision with proven technology to meet the real needs of IT professionals looking for a better way to do backup and disaster recovery. Service-oriented data protection is the way of the future," said Turner. "I look forward to building a strong North American sales team that can engage with current and prospective partners and customers to adopt the company’s compelling vision and successfully deploy FalconStor solutions."

Turner received a bachelor’s of science degree in marketing, with a minor in international relations, from Santa Clara University; a master’s of business administration from San Jose State University; and completed a certificate in negotiation and influence strategies from the Stanford Business School.