J.D. Baker: Channel Exec of the Year Finalist

J.D. Baker, ACC Business

Title: President & CEO

Years in current position: 8

Years with current company: 11

Years in the indirect channel: 11

Past jobs in the indirect channel: Vice President of Marketing, Vice President of Operations

Main channel goal: "[ACC Business has] an unfaltering commitment to our agents and to helping their businesses grow and become more profitable. With the advanced network of AT&T and the highly personal service you would expect from a small company, we deliver to agents in a way that no one else can. ... We pledge to always work closely with our agents, to listen, to understand their needs thoroughly, and then to fulfill them in a way that helps them and us achieve the greatest success possible."

How are you innovative in bringing new ideas to the channel? “As the only ‘agent only’ carrier of substance in the marketplace, everything we do is focused around the agents’ best interest. ... We have built this company on the capabilities of the channel and we will continue to provide what we believe to be the best agent program in the marketplace, built exclusively for agents. ... We deliver a broad base portfolio of services designed to meet the needs of the majority of the value-based business customers in the United States. We allow our agents to provide their customers with access to the industry-leading AT&T network through a product portfolio that is specifically built around the agent’s role in supporting that customer. We offer the agents an opportunity to propose a service to their clients without finding themselves in a ‘channel conflict’ situation with some direct sales forces. We offer the agent a program that has the intimacy, accessibility and efficiency of a smaller carrier program but with the financial stability of being part of the AT&T organization. We are obsessed with streamlining the pre-sales, sales, contracting and provisioning process in order to allow our partners to maximize selling time and leave the back office work to us. We pay our commissions accurately and on time.”

Hobby: Auto racing.

What others are saying about J.D.:

"ACC business has a strong commitment to the agent channel nicely balanced with the stability of AT&T corporate resources and reliable network. [Baker has] always taken time to listen to an agent's perspective and reinforce reasons to trust my business with ACC."

— Colombo DiSalvatore, Owner/Consultant, C4 Communications LLC, Independent Agent