Bill Brennan found himself in a real jam, professionally. Panasonic, his employer, was embarking on a massive overhaul of its video surveillance business in North America to become a B2B solutions organization. In other words, the company was turning its marketing focus to the end-user community — and its back on security integrators.
The structural changes, carried out in 2012, saw the merger of Panasonic’s Toughbook group with its assorted B2B divisions under one umbrella. The company brought in a small army of salespeople who were commissioned to go straight to end users and solicit. At the time, Brennan served as vice president of Panasonic’s reseller channel. The blowback was immediate.