Carousel Hires Ex-Quagga Executives as it Expands into Pacific Northwest and Western Region

May 29, 2012 - PRLog -- Exeter, Rhode Island, May 21, 2012 -- Carousel Industries, a leader in voice, video and data networking and converged communications, announced that it has expanded its footprint into the Western region with two significant executive appointments. Aileen Meraz, formerly of managed services firm Quagga, a Windstream Company, has been appointed Vice President of Sales, Western Region while Duree Westover, also formerly of Quagga, has been appointed to Regional Sales Director, Pacific Northwest Region.  Both are new positions and highlight Carousel's increasing geographic presence in the Western United States.

Aileen Meraz – Vice President of Sales, Western Region
Carousel has recruited Aileen Meraz as the Vice President of Sales, Western Region to build on the success of its existing operations in Northern and Southern California. Focusing initially on California and the Pacific Northwest, Meraz’s Western team will build on Carousel’s west coast success serving Arizona, Nevada and other Western states.

Previously vice president of sales at Quagga, Meraz is a veteran of the information technology space and has worked for Avaya, Cisco, Lucent Technologies and leading manufacturers. In her role at Quagga, Meraz organically grew the company’s net new sales revenue from $7 million to $49 million. Additionally, she grew sales 30% by cross-pollinating carrier sales divisions with the systems integration divisions.

“We are pleased to have Aileen on the Carousel team," said James Marsh, senior vice president, Carousel Industries.  “Her sales experience and solid leadership skills will be an enormous benefit to our organization as we continue to extend our leadership position in convergence and unified communications to underserved markets across the country.”

“I am excited to have the opportunity to work with Carousel's top-notch sales and technical talent, and to roll out Carousel's world-class capabilities to a new customer set on the West Coast," Meraz commented.

Duree Westover - Regional Sales Director
“Duree is a seasoned and respected executive with a track record of getting her foot into accounts where others cannot,” said Marsh.  “She will be responsible for driving our sales efforts in the Pacific Northwest region and for creating new opportunities for the Carousel brand — especially as it pertains to our services portfolio."

Prior to joining Carousel, Westover was director of Quagga, where she led a 17-person sales and marketing team, created and implemented tracking and measurement metrics, and monthly forecasting. With a team dispersed across the country, she led the team to achieve 230% of her sales quota for 2011. Westover is also a seasoned business consultant and has successfully helped clients implement sales and marketing strategies.

“I’m excited about the opportunity of delivering the high levels of expertise and customer service Carousel is known for to our new customers in the Pacific Northwest region,” Westover said. “We’re building a team of top talent that will drive growth in a market traditionally served by a handful of smaller players.”

As part of the expansion of the Western Region, Andrew Sherman, previously Regional Sales Director for Southern California will now be responsible for managing sales in California and Arizona.  He will report to Ms. Meraz.  Bryan Gilbert will continue as Regional Sales Director for Northern California, reporting into Mr. Sherman.