Key Takeaways
Introduction
New York, NY, June 10, 2026 – Derive Technologies, a New York City-based, MWBE-certified full-service IT integrator, value-added reseller, and managed services provider, is proud to announce that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Justin Marcus, Director of Partner Alliance, as a 2026 CRN Next-Gen Solution Provider Leader. This CRN list honors solution provider professionals who stand out for their innovative contributions to the growth and success of their organization.
The annual list spotlights rising-star executives, managers and directors who are 40 years of age or younger and already demonstrate strong leadership capabilities in their roles with solution provider organizations, including technology integrators, VARs, MSPs, MSSPs and IT consultants.
As Director of Partner Alliance, Marcus leads Derive’s strategic partner relationships and go-to-market initiatives, aligning the company’s sales, engineering, and partner teams around a single strategy. Over the past year he guided Derive through the Cisco 360 transition, improving the company’s average PVI score from 3 to above 5 across all five active portfolios, and led Derive’s enrollment in Cisco’s AI Accelerate program, earning the company a Cisco AI certification. He also drove growth plans across Palo Alto Networks, Lenovo, and CrowdStrike, retained Derive’s VMware authorization, and introduced a formal partner tiering and prioritization framework that brought greater focus and accountability to the company’s partner investments.
"Justin has reshaped how we approach our partner relationships," said Mike O'Donohoe, VP of Sales at Derive Technologies. "He brings a rare mix of technical depth and business sense, from earning our Cisco AI certification to the discipline he has brought to how we invest in every partner. This recognition is well deserved, and it reflects the value he delivers for our team and our customers."
“The leaders recognized in CRN’s 2026 Next-Gen Solution Provider list have distinguished themselves as ambitious innovators early in their IT channel careers,” said Jennifer Follett, Vice President, U.S. Content, Executive Editor at CRN, The Channel Company. “Their creativity and impact are already elevating their organizations and the broader channel. We look forward to watching them continue to influence and strengthen the industry in the years ahead.”
Coverage of the 2026 CRN Next-Gen Solution Provider Leaders list can be found at crn.com/nextgen.
Derive Technologies is a New York City-based, MWBE-certified full-service IT integrator, value-added reseller, and managed services provider with more than 25 years of experience. Headquartered at 40 Wall Street, Derive holds ISO 9001:2015 certification and is an approved vendor under New York State OGS and U.S. GSA contracts. Derive takes a vendor-agnostic approach, recommending the right technology for each client rather than any single brand. The company partners with a wide range of leading providers, including Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, VMware, Lenovo, Dell Technologies, HP, Nutanix, Zebra, Capsa Healthcare, ChargeTech, and Apple, among others, to deliver security, infrastructure, cloud, and managed services solutions across the public and private sectors. For more information, visit derivetech.com.