Rachel Canales is an accomplished sales and business leader with over 15 years of experience guiding business strategy and building customer relationships across various sectors, including OEM, SMB, Enterprise, SLED and FED sales.
Currently, she serves as the Vice President of Business Strategy and Execution at Iceotope, where she oversees operations management by creating processes to guide the company’s sales, marketing and procurement teams.
Throughout her career, Rachel has achieved significant success in sales and strategy. At Lenovo, she drove global accounts OEM sales and strategy, leading a sales team to achieve remarkable results. She was also Chief of Staff to the GM of Global Sales, where she led organizational restructuring, customer experience, and communications. Rachel has also held pivotal roles at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she led cross-functional service teams and developed growth initiatives that significantly increased sales and revenue. In her previous role as Vice President of Strategic Alliances at Iceotope, Rachel spearheaded the creation and implementation of a comprehensive partner enablement program, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement
Her expertise spans account and portfolio management, market trends analysis, sales forecasting, team leadership, and operational efficiency. Rachel is known for her ability to mentor and coach teams, promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, and accountability. She holds a Bachelor’s in Organizational Communications from the University of New Mexico.
What are the key roles in your field of work, and why did you choose your current expertise?
I had known someone that was working at Iceotope. They shared with me that Iceotope was doing amazing things, so when an opportunity arose, I immediately applied.
At Iceotope, we have so many varied roles that work together to bring our liquid cooling technology to market. Engineers, solutions architects and research and development staff fill the important roles of building our solutions, testing them, exploring new designs and helping us stay ahead of industry trends and emerging demands. On the sales, marketing and business development side where I sit, we’re focused on talking to customers to understand their cooling requirements, assisting them with custom solutions, getting the word out about our new solutions and working with strategic partners and licensees on new projects. I also work very closely with the VP of Product to ensure we are focusing on the innovations our customers want, along with efforts together to continue to build a strong culture.
I love working with people, which is why starting in sales was the right fit for me. My focus is working with my team of sales and marketing on Go-to-market and working with my operations and program management team on refining our operational strategies so we can be as agile as possible. I find my role incredibly exciting; as liquid cooling approaches an inflection point; we are helping data center operators transition to more energy-efficient technologies and are enabling this great wave of AI technology. I contribute to that goal by strengthening our partnerships across the industry, enhancing our sales infrastructure and using data to track market evolution so that we can help customers understand their liquid cooling options. It’s exciting to be part of this technological shift, where we’re not just selling a product but shaping the future of data center technology.
Do you have a favorite quote or guiding philosophy that you try to abide by?
One quote that has always stuck with me is from Richard Branson: “Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”
I believe it’s important as a leader to invest in employees’ growth while also fostering a supportive and fulfilling work environment. When you equip your team members with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, you empower them to excel in all of their future endeavors — whether at your company or somewhere else. However, when you cultivate that culture of respect, recognition and opportunity, I find people don’t want to leave; it inspires loyalty and long-term commitment. I know I’m doing something right as a leader if I can help people be the best they can be while also supporting their personal and professional growth.
What are you most proud of in your career, so far?
Something I’m proud of — and one of the most fulfilling aspects of my role—is mentoring and coaching my team. I am deeply committed to promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, and accountability, and I take great pride in helping my team grow professionally and achieve their goals.
Developing a partner enablement program for Iceotope from the ground up and seeing it foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement has also been particularly gratifying. Ensuring that our partners have the resources and support they need to succeed means I’m putting my focus in exactly the right areas. Being able to deliver on expectations and the resulting positive impact on their businesses is a source of inspiration.
What does an average work day look like for you?
Right now my core team is in Europe, so my mornings start early — around 5:00 a.m. with a cup of coffee and a quick trip outside with my dogs.
From there, I dive into meeting prep. It’s almost afternoon for my team when I log on, so I want to be as sharp as possible going into the calls. At this time of year, we’re talking through a lot of strategies and execution tactics for the year ahead.
On any given day, I might be building out sales plans, advising on marketing strategy, talking about which strategic partnerships we need to pursue, identifying tools and processes that will better support the organization or meeting one-to-one with my team to hash out plans and talk through their goals. Staying in lock-step with our product development team is another big priority — we always want to make sure the sales and marketing strategy we’re building aligns with our product roadmap.
Has anyone ever tried to stop you from learning and developing in your professional life, or have you found the tech sector supportive?
Fortunately, I’ve been lucky enough to work with peers and mentors who have fostered my learning and encouraged my growth throughout my career. In fact, many of the people I currently work with at Iceotope are long-time colleagues I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with over the years.
I’ve found the tech sector to be largely supportive of professional development. There’s a strong culture of mentorship and knowledge-sharing, and many leaders I’ve encountered are invested in fostering the growth of their teams. The tech sector’s collaborative spirit and focus on innovation ultimately make it a space where learning and growth are not only possible but encouraged.
Entering the world of work can be daunting. Do you have any words of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed?
When multiple project deadlines loom, you’re unsure about the next step, or competing priorities demand your attention, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed at work. In these moments, I find that tuning out distractions, focusing on what I can control and reiterating in my mind what I want to accomplish helps me recenter myself and feel more grounded.
The reward for this approach is the sense of accomplishment that comes from a job well done. Whether reaching a significant milestone, receiving positive feedback from a partner or witnessing the successful implementation of a new strategy, these successes inspire me to keep striving toward the next goal. They can also be sources of inspiration that help me navigate and overcome any feelings of overwhelm during the next project. I know that they will pass and the finished work will be worth the effort.
What advice would you give other women wanting to reach their career goals in technology?
My advice is to embrace resilience and strategic networking. The path to leadership can be complex, with numerous challenges along the way. Aspiring leaders can influence their careers and the broader tech landscape by building a solid professional network and continuously developing strategic skills. Also, find a mentor who can provide guidance and support your growth—mentorship has been invaluable in my career development and is one of the most fulfilling aspects of my role now. I am deeply committed to promoting a culture of excellence, innovation, and accountability, and I take great pride in helping my team grow professionally and achieve their goals.
