They say the friendships you make in business are the ones that last the longest. That sentiment holds true for Dave Sherry, the founder and president of Unity Telecom, a solution provider from Newmarket, Ont. He was blessed with countless long-lasting friendships.
CDN was saddened to learn that Sherry passed on the other day from a heart-attack.
Ross Pellizzari, president of Avaya Canada, called Sherry one of the most passionate leaders in business and life that he has ever dealt with.
“He lived life to the fullest and was simply the best at getting good people together. He was a leader, a husband, a father and a great gatherer of people. We will miss him more than we can possibly imagine at this point,” Pellizzari said.
Anne Beagan of Unity Telecom called Sherry a “trusted President and great friend”. The same feelings where shared by Pat Lance of Riverstone Marketing who called Sherry a “great guy”.
Beagan added that Unity has lost a visionary whose passion for his business and solid dedication to his company made him a true leader and inspiring mentor. Through the years he laid the foundation of Unity, surrounding himself with the best and most trusted people, who will continue to dedicate themselves to build upon the business he loved so much.
Sherry founded Unity in 2004 developed more than 125 industry certifications. Sherry was at one time Avaya’s only channel partner in Canada. He told CDN at the time that while on the surface the move looked bold, he thought otherwise believing that the Avaya technology was ahead of the curve.
Sherry was truly loyal to Avaya and that loyalty was also one of his great character traits. Sherry was loyal to the Canadian channel community as a whole, many charities, the environment, customers, his staff, the media, and business partners. His repulation was unrivaled in the industry.
Through the years he accomplished a great deal. Unity Telecom placed in the Profit Hot 50 fastest growing Canadian companies. Unity captured the Best Small Business Solution award at the CDN Channel Elite Awards. Unity was a staple of the CDN Top 100 Solution Provider list reaching the No. 45 position on this year’s rankings.
That loyalty to Avaya Canada was reward in 2011 when Unity Telecom was presented with two awards: the Leading Unified Communications Provider prize and the Avaya Partner of Excellence award.
To state the obvious Dave Sherry will be missed terribly by all in the Canadian IT channel community. CDN sends its condolences to Sherry’s family and the staff at Unity Telecom.
Funeral arrangements: Visitations will be held at Taylor Funeral Home located at 524 Davis Dr. in Newmarket, on Friday June 29 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.A funeral service will be held at St. Elizabeth Seton Church -17955 Leslie St. in Newmarket, on Saturday June 30 at 1 pm. Donations in Dave’s memory can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Meningitis Research Foundation of Canada.
Condolences may be sent to the family at taylorfuneralhomenewmarket.com.