Building Alliances Down Under
Meet Christopher Hudgens, channels and alliance manager, APAC in Australia
In a sandwich, nothing is more important than the meat. And as the channels and alliance manager for APAC, Christopher Hudgens says his job is just that – the meat in the sandwich.
Between on-boarding partners, evaluating new and existing partners, and running technical and sales training, Christopher works with his team to drive pipeline, mainly through marketing events with partners and account mapping with partners’ direct sales reps. "The reason my job is the meat in the sandwich is because my team and I deal with a lot on both ends. We onboard new partners and upskills existing partners - so it’s important to be stable.”
Though he’s been at CloudBees for only about 10 months, Christopher – or as his friends call him, "Z” – has been working in the channels and alliance space in Australia for 16 years.
Before coming into the tech sphere, Christopher actually majored in Zoology and minored in computer science at North Carolina State. He says his minor in computer science is the reason he’s in tech today - and of course the reason he was able to work at larger vendors such as Apple, IBM, and Splunk.
But in all the places he’s worked, Christopher says he’s never found anything quite like CloudBees.
"What I love about CloudBees, and what makes the company so different is the friendship. Here, despite working remotely, I have the strongest relationship with my teammates. Stronger than any other company I’ve worked for,” he says. "We’re extremely close knit here in Sydney. It’s one of the highlights of my job.”
Among the many things that make his team so united and successful, Christopher believes shared goals and experiences are the most critical. "It’s that cross-pollination that’s so important for our team and the back and forth sharing of our experiences. It’s the camaraderie, the way we work together. It’s out of this world.”
Born and raised in North Carolina, Christopher says living "down under” has been an exciting departure. "Our market here in APAC is probably unlike any other. It’s very different from working in the U.S.” Despite being so far from his family, Christopher says the diversity in his region makes him feel more at home. "I’m biracial – my mom is Native American; my dad is African American. So, for me, seeing all the different people here is like much of my family. We’re like the UN,” he says laughing. "And in this region, you do think of it like the United Nations. There are so many different countries – therefore different personalities and cultures you must consider when you’re working. The market is really a reflection of the world here.”
As a father, former professional football player, and now a Bee, Christopher honors dedication and teamwork above everything. Carrying the water and being there for others – even if that means staying after hours – is something he lives by each and every day. "We work like we’re family; and when you're working with family, you go the extra mile and put in that extra bit so you’re not letting anyone down. No one does the bare minimum here and no one wants to let anyone down. We have good people at CloudBees. Good people who work hard. But most importantly, good people who actually care about what they do here."
We are looking for new-bees to join the hive today: https://www.cloudbees.com/careers