TekLinks, Inc., announced today that Jim Akerhielm has been named to The Channel Company’s prestigious 2015 CRN® Top 100 list. CRN’s annual Top 100 list recognizes the efforts of agile decision-makers who play an integral role in evolving the way the channel does business. These 100 leaders, hand-picked by the CRN editorial staff, represent the pre-eminent innovators, influencers, disrupters and channel sales leaders in the IT channel today. 

The CRN Top 100 list is based on feedback gathered from technology solution providers throughout the year by CRN editors, with rankings reflecting executives’ channel influence, effectiveness and visibility, along with their business and sales impact on the IT channel. Among the criteria considered are the channel sales volume of the companies they represent, as well as those vendors’ channel investment and resources, channel advocacy, and performance in research projects conducted by The Channel Company’s CRN Intelligence research arm, including its esteemed Annual Report Card and Channel Champions reports.

Jim Akerhielm, TekLinks CEO

After becoming CEO in 2012, Akerhielm led TekLinks through the successful acquisition of Birmingham-based managed healthcare service provider ClinicAnywhere in 2013 and, earlier this year, leading cloud services provider Claris Networks, headquartered in Knoxville, TN. Both mergers served to expand the IT services and support TekLinks can offer healthcare practices and clinics, as well as deepen the skilled engineering presence available for clients throughout their Southeastern footprint. Since 2012, TekLinks has remained a prominent leader in the managed, cloud, and solution provider spaces, consistently ranking well on the MSPmentor, Talkin’ Cloud, and SP 500 lists, as well as the Inc. 5000.

“Jim’s commitment to the success of our clients is evident every day,” said Rob Mills, CFO of TekLinks. “First and foremost, he wants to grow our operations to provide top-tier IT solutions to the businesses we support. And he wants to ensure that our service model is sustainable over time in spite of the technology’s inherently (and inevitably) rapid state of change. His business acumen and years of insight into the industry inform each step TekLinks makes to achieve the highest level of service provision excellence.”

“The CRN Top 100 list recognizes an elite group of executives that demonstrate leadership skills and innovation that propel the IT channel forward,” said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. “Each individual named on this exclusive list has overcome business challenges and capitalized on opportunities while demonstrating a passion and dedication to the IT channel. This list is comprised of industry veterans with years of proven leadership as well as newcomers taking the channel by storm. All deserve recognition for their outstanding efforts in evolving the channel forward into new market opportunities."

The CRN Top 100 honorees will be featured in the August issue of CRN, the top news source for solution providers and the IT channel, and will be available online at www.crn.com.

Coverage of the Tech Elite 250 will be featured in the April issue of CRN, and online at www.CRN.com.

Read or download the full press release (PDF).