In 2017, after more than 25 years leading and growing sales teams in the technology industry, James Fyles "retired" to begin a second career in academia. He currently serves on the faculty at Appalachian State University as the executive in residence within the department of marketing & supply chain management.
From 2017 - 2020, James was an assistant professor of practice in sales and marketing at Stetson University, in Deland FL. There he helped build and develop the Centurion Sales Program, and in 2020 was awarded the Business School Teacher of the Year. James was also recognized in 2019 at the Sales Education Academy Conference with an Innovation in Sales Teaching award.
During his time in the field, James held a variety of sales leadership roles, including five years as vice president, federal channel sales at Motorola Solutions. There, his four teams were responsible for more than $400 million a year selling through some 1500 partners to U.S. federal government customers in support of their missions around the world. James has also held sales leadership positions at a variety of startup firms including Sensei Labs, MeshNetworks (which was acquired by Motorola), Infowave Software and Flash Networks.
James remains active in a variety of technology markets, serving as an advisor to a range of Web 3, service and SaaS firms. James holds an MBA from Rollins College in Orlando, FL.
Mr. Fyles’ research interests include investigating the effectiveness of various channel partner incentives and program structures, measuring and prioritizing returns of partner investments and the value propositions regarding academic sales and marketing programs.