What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Felise Katz, co-founder and CEO of Montvale, New Jersey solution provider PKA Technologies, received CRN’s 2026 Best of the Channel Lifetime Achievement Award at the October 14 ceremony in Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. The honor recognizes nearly three decades of channel leadership grounded in customer trust, personal responsibility, mentorship and continual adaptation as technology changed.
Why Felise Katz received CRN’s Lifetime Achievement Award
CRN’s award recognizes a career in which relationships and accountability were treated as operating principles rather than sales slogans. Katz has emphasized listening to customers, keeping commitments, taking responsibility when conditions are difficult and showing up for employees as well as clients.
“I’m a listener,” Katz said in CRN’s account of her career. That approach helped shape PKA’s focus on midmarket organizations, a segment she and her husband, technologist Peter Katz, believed was underserved by larger providers.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
“We were both end users. We were customers, and we did not like the way that we got treated,” Katz said. “We can do a much better job in the midmarket space.”
#1 Best Overall
- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
Who Felise Katz is and how PKA Technologies began
Katz’s parents immigrated from Germany and Austria and instilled the work ethic she later brought to business. She and Peter founded PKA after their own experiences as technology customers convinced them that midmarket buyers needed more attentive, practical support.
Peter initially ran the company while Felise concentrated on sales and marketing. Around 2000, their responsibilities switched and Felise became CEO. The transition put her in charge of guiding the company through successive changes in customer requirements, staffing and technology.
PKA is based in Montvale, New Jersey, and serves midmarket customers. Some clients have remained with the company since its inception, a sign of the long-term relationships Katz considers central to the business. Public coverage does not establish a customer count, revenue total or employee count.
The Hurricane Sandy moment that defined PKA’s customer-first approach
One of the clearest examples of Katz’s leadership came during Hurricane Sandy. When a customer’s equipment was underwater, Katz and family members removed servers from PKA’s demonstration room and drove them to affected customers.
“We took out servers from our demo room and brought them to customers who were underwater,” Katz recalled. “That’s where you are able to show your value. That’s where you’re able to just make things happen. And people remember those things.”
The episode illustrates a hands-on model: when a customer faces an outage or disaster, the provider’s value is measured by useful action, not by the elegance of a proposal or the size of a contract.
How PKA evolved from infrastructure to cloud and AI
PKA began with consulting and traditional infrastructure work, then expanded as customers needed broader capabilities. Its portfolio grew to include networking, storage, security, cloud and, more recently, AI-related work. Katz described that progression as a sequence of capability decisions rather than a single pivot.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Networking was a particularly significant change. Katz said the leadership team had to decide how to hire and build expertise for a business in which networking would become fundamental to customers’ environments. “We had no idea what it meant to have the backbone of a company or organization be on the networking side,” she said.
That experience informs PKA’s current move from an infrastructure-centered model toward AI. Katz says the company still sells hardware, software and services, but is adapting those offerings to customers’ changing priorities. Her concise rule is: “You have to keep adapting.”
Rank #4
What Katz’s leadership looks like in practice
| Leadership dimension | Katz’s approach at PKA | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|---|
| Customer relationships | Trust and long-term service over transactional selling | Her founding motivation was improving treatment of midmarket customers; some customers have stayed since PKA’s beginning. |
| Executive involvement | Hands-on participation when customers or employees need help | The Hurricane Sandy response shows direct action during a crisis. |
| Growth and risk | Build capabilities deliberately while continuing to operate the existing business | PKA added networking, storage, security, cloud and AI as needs evolved rather than abandoning hardware, software or services. |
| People development | Mentorship, accountability and opening opportunities | Colleagues describe Katz as a practical mentor who developed leaders and supported women in the channel. |
This is a qualitative comparison, not a measured ranking against other channel executives. The cited coverage provides testimony and examples, not a formal performance study.
How Katz has influenced employees and women in technology
People who worked with Katz describe a leader who develops others by example. PKA vice president of operations Ricky Liber said, “She taught me how to take care of the people who do theirs.” Former HP executive Terry Richardson said, “She really led by example, and she set a pretty high bar for what commitment looks like.”
Her influence also extends through access and sponsorship. Colleagues portray her as a hands-on mentor who helped develop leaders and opened doors for women in the technology channel—support that goes beyond hiring and includes visibility, coaching and opportunities to take on responsibility.
Best Value
- Author: Hunter, James C..
- Publisher: Currency
- Pages: 187
- Publication Date: 1998-09-01
- Edition: Later Printing
Her family’s perspective reinforces the consistency of that style. Eli Katz, PKA’s director of cloud and consumption, said, “My mother leads with such class and exuberance and excitement and respect.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Leadership lessons from Felise Katz’s career
Listen before prescribing
Starting with the customer’s experience can reveal service problems that a product-first sales process misses. Katz’s listening-first approach helped PKA focus on what midmarket organizations actually needed.
Make trust visible during hard moments
The Sandy response shows that trust is built through concrete help when normal plans fail. Emergency support can become a lasting test of whether a provider’s promises are real.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesAdapt without discarding operational strengths
PKA added new disciplines while continuing to provide hardware, software and services. That balance lets a solution provider pursue cloud and AI without pretending existing infrastructure expertise is obsolete.
Develop people as part of the business model
Mentoring and inclusion create leaders who can carry the organization through its next technology shift. Katz’s colleagues connect her standard of commitment with the growth of people around her.
What the award means for the channel
Katz’s recognition frames channel leadership as more than revenue growth or early adoption of a new technology. Her nearly three-decade career combines customer advocacy, operational reinvention and people development. The award also highlights a route for midmarket providers: earn durable relationships, build capabilities as needs change and make leadership behavior visible to both customers and employees.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
