Carissa Lawson — Business Development Manager

Genuine conversation is becoming a lost art and cloud modernization is too complex for a "one-size-fits-all" approach. I believe in replacing sales pitches with real conversations that focus on long-term outcomes over short-term trends. Modern strategy requires a long-term lens. We don’t just solve for this year; we architect for where your business should be in two, five, or even ten years. Through Pellera’s AIM methodology (Advise, Implement, Manage), my team and I provide a consultative partnership that prioritizes your unique business goals. This framework creates the space for honest discussions about what is—and isn't working, rather than simply pushing a single product. I am a lifelong learner committed to driving meaningful outcomes through a consultative, results-driven approach. Let’s stop chasing trends and start building what lasts! Honors/Accomplishments 2025-2026 2026 President’s Club Winner 2026 Member AWS Partner Advisory Council (PAC) 2026 Pellera SKO Panel Speaker on AWS Title: Virtualization/Cloud Session 2026 Pellera MVP (Awarded at Pellera 2026 SKO) 2026 Pellera Champion Award (Exec nomination 3.2026) 2026 Pellera Tech Summit Panel Speaker Virtualization, Cloud, Optimization (Title: Today’s Market Challenges) *Member of Women of the Channel Leadership Network 2026 2025 President's Club Winner 2025 Member AWS Partner Advisory Council (PAC) 2025 IBM THINK Panel Speaker w IBM/Arrow/AWS 2025 AWS Partner Sales Leader/Growth Manager 2025 AWS Partner Advisory Board Member 2025 Ingram Micro ONE Panel Speaker w Ingram/Being an AWS Partner 2025 Ingram Micro ONE Panel Speaker w AWS *Member of Women of the Channel Leadership Network 2025

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Cloud Computing and SaaS expert with a focus on strategic partnerships.

Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

Experience: 26 yrs 8 mos

Skills

Amazon Web Services (aws)
Channel Partners
Collaboration
Software As A Service (saas)
Project Management
Product Development

Career Highlights

Led AWS Strategic Alliance for significant growth.
Expert in cloud modernization and customer education.
Recognized speaker at industry-leading panels.

Work Experience

Pellera Technologies

AWS Partner Growth Manager (20 yrs 2 mos)

Mainline Information Systems

Software Sales Modernization/AWS Sales Alliance Lead (19 yrs 2 mos)

a la mode, inc.

From Sales to VP Projects (4 yrs 4 mos)

Owner/Self Employed

Independent SAP Recruiter (2 yrs 2 mos)

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Letters/Latin Minor at University of Oklahoma

Carissa Lawson

Business Development Manager

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States26 yrs 8 mos experience

Most Likely To SwitchHighly Stable

Key Highlights

Led AWS Strategic Alliance for significant growth.
Expert in cloud modernization and customer education.
Recognized speaker at industry-leading panels.

Stackforce AI infers this person is a Cloud Computing and SaaS expert with a focus on strategic partnerships.

Contact

Skills

Core Skills

Amazon Web Services (aws)Channel PartnersCollaborationSoftware As A Service (saas)Project ManagementProduct Development

Other Skills

Customer EducationMarketing AnalysisHybrid CloudSolution SellingSoftware IndustryIntegrationProfessional ServicesEnterprise SoftwareCloud ComputingSales ProcessSalesE-commerceLeadershipVirtualizationData Center

About

Experience

26 yrs 8 mos

Total Experience

11 yrs 5 mos

Average Tenure

20 yrs 2 mos

Current Experience

Pellera technologies

AWS Partner Growth Manager

Apr 2006 – Present · 20 yrs 2 mos · Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area · Remote

July 2025 - Present at Pellera but I actually started at the organization in April 2006 under Mainline.
AWS Partner Sales Leader @ Pellera Technologies (formerly Mainline and Converge)
I've led the AWS Strategic Alliance at Mainline Information systems (now called Pellera) for the last 4 years. Driving the growth of the AWS Partnership driving AWS deployments, while collaborating with other ISVs vendors like Anthropic, IBM, Redhat, CISCO, Commvault, Arctic Wolf to name a few.
Fast tracked Mainline in Q1 2025 (now Pellera) to AWS Advanced Tier in a matter of months.
Educate customers on IBM software ecosystem and cloud modernization, holding over 50 IBM Software Proficiency Badges.
Guide customers in making informed decisions, bridging the gap between different technologies.
Member of Women of the Channel Leadership Network
My approach is collaborative and emphasizes a holistic understanding of our clients' needs. I work alongside industry leaders like IBM, RedHat, AWS and Azure to create tailored solutions that address technological gaps while driving substantial value and operational excellence for our customers.
My focus is on customer outcomes. I am dedicated to guiding organizations through complex technology landscapes, ensuring they leverage the right tools for impactful data utilization and protection.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)Channel Partners

Mainline information systems

Software Sales Modernization/AWS Sales Alliance Lead

Apr 2006 – Jun 2025 · 19 yrs 2 mos · United States · Remote

Since IBM's Announcement w AWS (Summer 2022) I have led the AWS Strategic Alliance to drive Marketplace growth and deployments, collaborating with vendors like Amazon/AWS IBM, Redhat and Microsoft/Azure.
Fast tracked Mainline to AWS Advanced Tier in a matter of months.
Educated customers on IBM software ecosystem and cloud modernization, holding over 40 IBM Software Proficiency Badges.
Guided customers in making informed decisions, bridging the gap between different technologies.
Member of Women of the Channel Leadership Network
My approach is collaborative and emphasizes a holistic understanding of our clients' needs. I work alongside industry leaders like IBM, RedHat, AWS and Azure to create tailored solutions that address technological gaps while driving substantial value and operational excellence for our customers.
My focus is on customer outcomes. I am dedicated to guiding organizations through complex technology landscapes, ensuring they leverage the right tools for impactful data utilization and protection.
Over 19 years working with IBM PPA https://www.credly.com/users/carissa-lawson/badges#credly

Software as a Service (SaaS)Amazon Web Services (AWS)

A la mode, inc.

From Sales to VP Projects

Dec 2001 – Apr 2006 · 4 yrs 4 mos · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

Vice President reported directly to the Chairman/Owner of a la mode Inc. Worked in sales and development, workflow management systems and e-commerce technology for a wide range of participants in the mortgage lending and real estate transactions processes. Participated in research, building and implementation of a revolutionary Internet Data Exchange (IDX) Product for the Real Estate markets. As the VP and Project Manager on this effort, I develop the features, screens, product positioning and marketing analyses while coordinating with developers to develop, build, and implement the IDX product from the pilot stage to beta; while communicating with C-level executives of North America’s largest MLS boards in order to establish partnerships, integration and implementation.
Other titles as a moved up in the organization included:
02/04 – 07/05 Vice President Mortgage
06/03 – 02/04 Director of Corporate Sales
06/02 – 06/03 Sales Manager
12/01 – 06/02 Senior Sales Representative

Owner/self employed

Independent SAP Recruiter

Oct 1999 – Dec 2001 · 2 yrs 2 mos · Oklahoma City, OK

Provided technical and logistic talent as an SAP Recruiter with a vast client base ranging from Big 5 consulting firms to smaller firms nationwide. (Exclusive recruiter to PricewaterhouseCoopers Eastern Business District for their SAP practice).