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Brian Gagnon Named a Finalist in CRN's 2026 Best Channel Visionary Awards
We’re excited to announce that Uprise Partners' CTO Brian Gagnon has been named a finalist in CRN’s 2026 Best Channel Visionary Awards, recognizing leaders who are shaping the future of the IT channel through innovation and leadership. The recognition highlights Brian’s vision and commitment to bringing sophisticated, AI-driven IT and cybersecurity capabilities to small and mid-sized businesses.
Uprise Partners, a leading cybersecurity and managed IT services provider, announced today that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company has named Brian Gagnon, the company’s co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, a Best Channel Visionary finalist in the second annual CRN Best of the Channel Awards.
As a finalist, Gagnon is being spotlighted for his dedication to channel innovation and excellence through his vision and leadership in developing Uprise’s Kineo Technology Platform, the company’s proprietary AI-driven platform that powers its managed IT services. Conceived and architected by Gagnon, Kineo integrates security, monitoring, compliance, automation, and AI-driven intelligence that enables Uprise engineers to identify risks, surface critical insights, and proactively respond with greater speed and precision. His work is helping Uprise bring enterprise-caliber technology services—once largely reserved for Fortune 500 companies—to the small and mid-sized businesses at the heart of Uprise’s mission.
The CRN Best of the Channel Awards honors individual leaders, teams, and companies setting an example with their visionary strategies and outstanding contributions to channel success. Winners will be announced at the Best of the Channel Awards Gala in Atlanta on Oct. 13, immediately following The Channel Company’s XChange Best of Breed Conference.
Gagnon has more than 30 years of experience building, scaling, and optimizing complex technology ecosystems across global enterprises and startups. He has held senior leadership roles including Head of Global Systems Engineering at HGST/Western Digital and Global Architect at VMware, where he drove major infrastructure and cloud transformations worldwide. As a founder and executive leader of multiple tech ventures, he brings a strategic mindset and deep technical acumen to every stage of growth.
“The finalists of the CRN Best of the Channel Awards represent the very best of the IT channel,” said Jennifer Follett, VP, U.S. Content and Executive Editor of CRN, The Channel Company. “Through innovation, exceptional leadership, and an unwavering commitment to partners and customers, these individuals, teams, and companies are helping shape the future of the channel. We are proud to recognize their accomplishments and the lasting impact they continue to make across the industry.”
“Being recognized as a finalist is an incredible honor and a reflection of what our entire team at Uprise has built together,” said Gagnon. “Kineo is not a bundle of tools with a shared logo—it’s an integrated platform where every component shares data and intelligence to give our engineers a unified, real-time view of each client environment. But technology alone isn’t enough. Kineo’s success is ultimately measured by the service and outcomes it enables our team to deliver. My commitment is to ensure that Kineo's architecture, our engineering team's standards, and the client experience all scale together so that as Uprise grows, we continue to elevate and improve the value, service, and experience we deliver to every client.”
“Brian has raised the bar on what it means to bring excellent IT services to SMBs. He is a brilliant engineer and an inspiring leader who lifts up everyone around him. Our team and our customers can all attest to the difference he makes,” said Malinda Gagnon, CEO of Uprise Partners.
The full list of CRN Best of the Channel Award finalists can be viewed online at crn.com/best-of-the-channel-awards.
About Uprise Partners
Uprise Partners exists at the intersection of enterprise excellence and SMB enablement, delivering advanced IT and cybersecurity services typically reserved for Fortune 500 organizations—all without sacrificing flexibility, accessibility, or humanity. The company has been nationally recognized as a top 100 Security and top 500 Managed Services Provider, including being named to the Pioneer 250 list for its commitment to delivering strategic, security-first IT solutions tailored to the needs of SMBs. Other honors include the 2025 PROPEL Ignition Business of the Year award, and spots on the Tech Elite 250, MES Midmarket 100, Fast Growth 150 (ranked #2 nationally) and Next-Gen Solution Provider Leader lists.
For more information, visit uprisepartners.com
About The Channel Company
The Channel Company (TCC) is the global leader in channel growth for the world’s top technology brands. We accelerate success across strategic channels for tech vendors, solution providers and end users with premier media brands, integrated marketing and event services, strategic consulting, and exclusive market and audience insights. TCC is a portfolio company of investment funds managed by EagleTree Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm.
For more information, visit thechannelco.com.
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