Kevin McDonald, executive vice president and chief information security officer at Alvaka Networks, an Irvine, Calif.-based networking and IT MSP, on the death of his friend, Brad Amano (pictured), a 10-year veteran at data center power hardware and software vendor Eaton who passed away July 3 at the age of 54.

"There are people you see for business reasons, and there are people you see as friends. Every time I went to [The Channel Company event] XChange, I wondered if Brad was there. Every single picture you see of Brad ... he was always hugging someone. He always exuded kindness in a way few people do."