At Nitel, we have a smart, energetic and interesting group of people who make up our team. The unique set of experiences, skills and interests they each bring helps shape who we are as company. Kenneth Knapp, regional vice president of West channel sales, brings 24 years of sales and telecom experience to Nitel. We sat down with Kenneth to learn a little more about him.

  1. Can you provide a brief summary of your experience in the channel? 
    In my professional history I’ve managed many positions that place me inside and outside the channel. Here at Nitel I’m the new guy to the channel, a fresh face with a long history in telecom.
  2. What is most rewarding about your job?
    Helping my team and our customers find solutions to problems.
  3. What is something you have learned while working at Nitel?
    People are the difference that make the brand. And passion and belief are its fuel.
  4. What advice would you give to someone starting their career in telecom?
    Fail forward fast, work daily outside your comfort zone, learn something new every day and never stop, never lie, never mislead and be specific. Do your best work every day. Love what you do or find some other way to spend your time.
  5. How do you define success?
    Feeling certain in the knowledge that I have given my best in a noble effort and left projects in my path better off than when I found them. Knowing fully, I left no stone unturned, no avenue not ventured, no question not asked. To make a difference for the better and be respected for doing so. Living with character through action and deed daily even when no one is watching.
  6. Talk about something you’re passionate about outside of work.
    I believe this world was created for us to enjoy. I aspire to see, smell and touch as much pristine nature as my life allows, and I take great joy in climbing, crawling, running, swimming, paddling, hiking and biking as often as my schedule allows. Nothing beats standing atop a peak you arduously ascended for three to five hours, peering out over the horizon at what lies below. It’s inspiring and humbling in the same instant.
  7. Name one item on your bucket list.
    To visit every pyramid ruin in existence.
  8. If you were a Nitel service, which one would you be and why?
    I would be SD-WAN. This platform is intelligent, flexible, adaptable. It supports creativity in deployment and application. Our SD-WAN products can be applied in a myriad of ways to create positive outcomes for many enterprises from the very simple to highly complex. It’s a platform build on security that offers threat abatement and peace of mind. SD-WAN makes very complex networks simpler to manage once configured and deployed; it’s a solution you can depend on.