Eight Clouderans Earn CRN Women of the Channel Distinction
The ability to solve today's complex business challenges around hybrid cloud, AI, and data analytics hinges on a thriving partner ecosystem. Cloudera’s Partner Organization is the driving force behind this collaboration, relentlessly focused on delivering innovation and accelerating customer success at scale.
We are thrilled to share that the dedication and expertise of eight remarkable women within Cloudera have been recognized by CRN in their 2025 Women of the Channel (WOTC) list. This award celebrates leaders with exceptional expertise and vision who are driving innovation and shaping the future of the IT channel.
Our SVP of Global Alliances, Michelle Hoover, was also elevated to the prestigious Power 100 list – an elite group of WOTC honorees whose contributions over the past year have had a transformative impact on the channel.
Let’s celebrate Cloudera’s own Women of the Channel and learn a bit more about the winners.
Michelle Hoover, SVP, Global Alliances, Channels – Cloudera’s Power 100 honoree made the list due to her leadership through transformative initiatives over the past year. Michelle’s efforts have accelerated enterprise AI deployments and advanced Cloudera's AI and cloud ecosystem through key integrations.
Michelle leads Cloudera’s Global Alliances & Channels team, bringing with her more than 20 years of partner experience. Her deep partnership expertise and strong relationships within the data and AI ecosystem make her an invaluable leader in shaping Cloudera's alliances and partner channel strategies. Her leadership style embodies Cloudera’s values by prioritizing collaboration with stakeholders and team members alike, consistently making time to ensure alignment and shared understanding on every project. She has played a major role in advancing Cloudera’s AI Ecosystem—a group of technology providers that helps enterprises maximize the value of their AI initiatives more easily, cost-effectively, and securely.
Michelle believes a good leader works on the front lines, ensuring that each team member is utilized to their full potential through hands-on partner and customer engagement. This focus fosters strong collaboration and a united front with sales, which is critical to a thriving Cloudera partner ecosystem.
Natascha Lee, Head of Global Partner & Alliance Marketing – A six-time winner of the Women of the Channel awards, Natascha brings over 20 years of dynamic and impactful channel marketing experience, and serves as Head of Cloudera’s Global Partner Marketing team. She leads innovative programs spanning a vast ecosystem of technology partners, driving audacious pipeline goals, deepening partner engagement, and significantly increasing their bottom-line impact.
Her leadership expertly combines the art and science of marketing to ignite partners and customers through innovative messaging, segmentation, targeting, and measurement, consistently generating demand, increasing market share, and exceeding aggressive revenue goals.
Valaretha Brown, Senior Partner Marketing Manager – Valaretha brings innovative, global programs to Cloudera while also strengthening customer, channel, and team relationships to deliver business impacting growth and results. A four-time winner of the Women of the Channel awards, Valaretha has had a significant impact in developing strong partner relationships, establishing joint go-to-market programs and driving operational excellence to increase revenue opportunities. With over 15 years of B2B technology partner marketing experience, Valaretha is masterful at uncovering strategic initiatives that make an immediate impact while establishing herself as a trusted advisor with her marketing counterparts. She is dedicated to evangelizing partners and elevating Cloudera by developing impactful content for joint digital campaigns that deliver new leads and drive existing leads through the sales funnel.
Lan Chu, Senior Partner Marketing Manager – At Cloudera, Lan has consistently built meaningful partner relationships and driven impactful results across the organization. Her diverse experience encompasses marketing, partnerships, and sales enablement, fueling her passion for bringing strategic ideas to life. Lan leverages this deep expertise in marketing strategy and demand generation, collaborating closely with Cloudera’s cross-functional teams, partners, and vendors to deliver channel-focused marketing programs that amplify sales and drive business success for the entire organization.
Naomi Gravelding, Partner Marketing Manager – Since joining Cloudera in late 2021, Naomi has spearheaded a comprehensive partner marketing communications program. Through innovative strategies, improved communication channels, and streamlined processes, she has strengthened awareness of Cloudera's partner ecosystem and significantly expanded its reach with both internal teams and external partners. Her efforts have demonstrably increased the volume of partner-specific updates to internal teams and fostered overall partner communications and engagement, driving deeper collaboration and business impact while establishing clear guidelines for effective digital communications.
Janet O'Sullivan, Senior Partner Marketing Manager – With a far-reaching role spanning four continents, Janet has significantly impacted Cloudera's success by fostering substantial growth and cultivating a strong partner ecosystem that directly addresses crucial customer needs, generating significant ROI in the process. Her strategic approach has driven a significant increase in partner pipeline within her region, achieved through collaborative execution with partners and internal teams, from multi-partner events to focused account-based marketing (ABM) strategies. Notably, Janet has also been the architect of a highly successful 1:many Partner Days program, which has been instrumental in engaging a broader partner base and driving further pipeline growth within her regions. Additionally, she has been a key driver in effectively leveraging the partner marketing team's marketing development funds to further empower the partner ecosystem.
Jessica Espinoza, Senior Partner Marketing Manager – Jessica is a seasoned marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in partner marketing, branding, and integrated strategies. She currently manages marketing relationships for Cloudera’s Cloud Alliances. Jessica is known for her cross-functional collaboration and ability to execute campaigns that align with business goals and scale globally. She has led multi-million-dollar co-marketing programs, produced events for 40,000+ attendees, and developed strategic content across digital, social, and internal platforms. Fluent in English and Spanish, she excels in partner relationship management, content development, and event production—blending creativity and operational precision to drive measurable results.
Chloe Gibel, Director of Partner Strategy and Programs - A seasoned leader in partner strategy, programs, and operations, Chloe spearheads global initiatives to streamline partner experiences and accelerate joint success. Chloe leads the Cloudera Partner Network, designing and implementing partner programs that enhance the partner experience and driving meaningful growth. With more than a decade of experience in partner marketing, demand generation, and channel programs, Chloe brings a unique blend of creativity and precision to building scalable ecosystems.
These Women of the Channel winners embody Cloudera's culture of collaboration that empowers innovation and enables operational excellence in the complex partner landscape, facilitating the delivery of exceptional results to our partner ecosystem.
Learn more how Cloudera’s partner ecosystem can support your hybrid cloud journey.
