UK IT Channel News | IT Channel Oxygen
  • News
  • Topics
    • Vendor
    • Distributor
    • Partner
    • Indepth
    • Sustainability
    • M&A
    • People Moves
    • AI
    • Tech trends
  • About Us
  • Partner with us
  • KOcycle Zone
Members
Must-Know Distributors
Oxygen 250
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Topics
    • Vendor
    • Distributor
    • Partner
    • Indepth
    • Sustainability
    • M&A
    • People Moves
    • AI
    • Tech trends
  • About Us
  • Partner with us
  • KOcycle Zone
No Result
View All Result
UK IT Channel News | IT Channel Oxygen
No Result
View All Result
Home People Moves

‘We realised it has legs’ – The Channel Community to become a CIC

“To get it to that next stage it needs a proper focus,” Yvonne Matzk tells us

Doug Woodburn by Doug Woodburn
5 March 2024
in People Moves
Share on LinkedinShare on Twitter

The Channel Community is going through the final checks to become a community interest company (CIC) as it kickstarts the “next stage” of its evolution.

Founded in 2021 by former CDW exec Yvonne Matzk, The Channel Community operates a buddy-mentee system which pairs experienced leaders with those who are newer to the industry, or who lack a mentoring network.

It will become a CIC – a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders – as soon as late March or early April, Matzk confirmed.

“When we created The Channel Community, it was with some friends I’d rounded up,” she told IT Channel Oxygen.

“Everything we’ve done so far has been very sporadic, and there’s been no real focus and thought as to the direction.

“As it’s grown and evolved, that made us realise this has got legs.”

CIC the place to be

The Channel Community isn’t the first industry movement to become a CIC in recent months, with the Tech Channel Ambassadors recently doing the same. It is seeking to raise awareness of career opportunities across the channel.

Matzk said: “It has to stand on its own two feet and having spoken to a couple of friends of mine in the industry who are doing something similar, a CIC seemed to be the best route.”

The new status will mean its directors, who include Matzk, CAE’s Aggrey Lutta, Sapphire’s Chris Gabriel, Ideal’s Julia Elliott, SCC’s Kate Auchterlonie, Distology’s Dan Evans, Mark Collins and Olivia Jaskolka, are not able to draw a salary, she stressed.

“Because it’s not-for profit it has some tax benefits for organisations that want to support us financially and help operationalise it,” she said.

The Channel Community will later this week “put a stake in the ground” when it unveils its chosen charity partner, Matzk promised.

This will be in the area of social mobility, she revealed (see video, top, for more).

“One of the amazing things we really loved about CICs is that if you do make a profit at the end of the year, it has to then go to a designated charity,” Matzk said.

“The channel is already doing an amazing job on ethnicity with things like TC4RE [Technology Community for Racial Equality], and Tech Channel Ambassadors is doing a great job of raising awareness to get people in. But there’s nobody really focusing on social mobility.

“We thought there was a massive opportunity for us to say ‘this is what we want to be known for’.”

Yvonne Matzk
Yvonne Matzk

Searching for mentee a-plenty

As part of the next phase of its evolution, The Channel Community is adding a series of virtual events and webinars (alongside at least three physical events), Matzk said.

The first of these will offer attendees advice on how to take ownership of their career.

Matzk repeated her goal to get 100 mentors and mentees on board, but conceded this could take up to two years as The Channel Community builds awareness.

An ideal mentee will either be new to the industry or occupy a solitary role within their organisation, Matzk said.

“We don’t seem to have any problems gaining channel buddies. There are a lot of people that want to give back,” Matzk said.

“It’s the mentees we struggle with the most. Part of that is perception and understanding. We’ve got two amazing individuals – Kate [Auchterlonie] and Dan [Evans] – who are fantastic mentee matchmakers, but we need more support and help to drive the mentee side of things. That is going to be our main focus.”

Matzk concluded: “We’ve built some great foundations, but to get it to that next stage it needs a proper focus, as opposed to making it up as you go along – which is pretty much where we’d got to.

“This year is all about setting up the CIC, getting everyone bedded in and making sure everything is fully operational.”

Doug Woodburn
Website |  + postsBio

Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen

  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    Duo aim to help 200 ISVs crack AWS Marketplace
  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    ‘Customers and staff were asking’ – Utilize the latest MSP to become a B Corp
  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    ‘I think it’s important to resellers’ – Exclusive Networks VP’s €1bn boast
  • Doug Woodburn
    https://itchanneloxygen.com/author/itchanneloxygen-com/
    ‘We needed to make a clear distinction’ – e92plus CEO on ‘e92spark’ launch
Tags: featuredThe Channel Community
Previous Post

Who is Logicalis’ new UK CEO?

Next Post

‘A strangely easy decision’ – Cisco’s former channel boss on joining WWT

Related Posts

Yuri Pasea
People Moves

Pasea to ‘decompress’ after Prianto parting

17 June 2025
Dave Stevinson, QBS Software
Distributor

QBS Software ‘lasering in’ on ‘G’ of ESG

16 June 2025
Rickie Sehgal, Transputec
M&A

Exclusive: Transputec acquires Armadillo Managed Services

16 June 2025
Clare Barclay, Microsoft
Careers & Skills

‘Speechless’ – Barclay joins UK tech elite as she receives Damehood

14 June 2025
Cloudable.AI team
Tech trends

Duo aim to help 200 ISVs crack AWS Marketplace

13 June 2025
Microsoft and Google outgrow AWS in Q1 cloud market
Market data

Microsoft and Google outgrow AWS in Q1 cloud market

12 June 2025
Guy Hocking, Utilize
Sustainability

‘Customers and staff were asking’ – Utilize the latest MSP to become a B Corp

12 June 2025
SoftwareOne and Crayon confirm talks – but there’s a crazy quirk
M&A

SoftwareOne and Crayon set July closure date

10 June 2025
Next Post
Dominic Pierce, WWT

‘A strangely easy decision’ – Cisco’s former channel boss on joining WWT

Follow Us

IT Channel Oxygen keeps you informed on the UK IT channel and its sustainable transformation. Learn more

  • About
  • Our Team
  • Partner with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • News
  • Cookie Policy (UK)

© 2025 IT Channel Oxygen

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
No Result
View All Result
  • Oxygen 250
  • Must-Know Distributors
  • Member area
  • KOcycle Zone
  • Big Interview
  • News
  • Indepth
  • About
  • Partner with us

© 2025 IT Channel Oxygen