All the major channel job shifts in 2021

Talent has been the hottest word in Australia's IT channel this year and we've seen a huge number of shifts throughout 2021.

Check out the year's biggest executive role shifts across the country, plus some major moves in the biggest global companies. 

Click the navigation arrows on each photo or use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll through our list.

Know about a key local appointment that we missed? Email us at crneditors@crn.com.au

Hills CEO David Lenz departs

2 February

Distributor Hills Ltd announced that chief executive and managing director David Lenz has retired.

Lenz departed after five years as CEO, staying on at Hills Ltd in an interim capacity until a replacement has been named.

“It has been a privilege to lead Hills over the past five years as we have worked to transform the company,” Lenz said in a statement to shareholders.

“Notwithstanding the issues and challenges the business has experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is well positioned to drive future growth with a sharpened focus and a strong balance sheet.”

Read the full story here.

AWS CEO Andy Jassy to replace Jeff Bezos as Amazon chief

3 February

It was announced that Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy – credited as the ‘father’ of cloud computing – was to become the new CEO of parent company Amazon.com when founder Jeff Bezos stepped down.

Amazon made the announcement in its fourth-quarter earnings report.

Jassy, who joined Amazon right out of Harvard Business School, started and grew AWS into the dominant leader of the public cloud computing industry.

Bezos transitioned to the role of executive chair at Amazon.

Read the full story here.

Arrow ECS ANZ's Andrew Assad departs

19 February

Arrow ECS Australia and New Zealand general manager Andrew Assad departed the company after a 16-year stint.

Assad departed Arrow in mid-February, with no confirmation of a replacement as of today.

Arrow Electronics vice president of global communications John Hourigan confirmed the move in a statement.

"We wish Andrew well in his future endeavours," Hourigan told CRN.

Assad’s replacement is outlined later in this list.

Read the full story here.

Lenovo DCG ANZ channel chief Frank Eagleton to depart 

23 February

Lenovo Data Centre Group’s Australia and New Zealand channel chief Frank Eagleton departed in March.

Eagleton, who was named head of channel for ANZ in 2019, left Lenovo in March after 13 years with the company in various roles across Australia and South Africa.

Later in the year, Lenovo revamped its APAC structure and Eagleton found a new role which appears later in this list.

Read the full story here.

Telstra's channel chief to depart

19 March

Telstra's channel chief Nevash Pillay departed the role in June 2021 after 18 years with the company.

"After an incredible journey at Telstra, leading direct, indirect and technical sales teams, Nevash Pillay has decided to pause her career with Telstra Enterprise," a Telstra spokesperson said in a statement to CRN.

Pillay led Telstra's Enterprise Partner Sales business since 2018, which experienced 23 percent year on year growth over the last four years, according to the telco.

Read the full story here.

AWS picks Tableau’s Adam Selipsky as new CEO

24 March

Amazon tapped Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky as the next CEO of its Amazon Web Services cloud computing business.

Selipsky, who previously served as vice president of marketing, sales and support for Seattle-based AWS until his 2016 move to Tableau, replaced founding AWS CEO Andy Jassy.

Jassy replaced Jeff Bezos as CEO of parent company Amazon beginning in the third quarter that starts in July when Bezos moved to the executive chair role.

Read the full story here.

WatchGuard names new ANZ regional director

25 March

Anthony Daniel was appointed as WatchGuard Technologies’ new Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands regional director, replacing Mark Sinclair.

Prior to WatchGuard, Daniel was a senior regional sales manager for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at SolarWinds and before that, a senior sales manager for Oracle in Australia.

Mark Sinclair left to pursue business interests outside of the IT industry.

Read the full story here.

Dell has a new channel sales leader

1 April

Dell Technologies confirmed the promotion of longtime Dell veteran Driss El Ougmani as the US$94 billion company’s new head of global channel and specialty sales.

Ougmani has been with the company for nearly two decades mainly in executive roles in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Ougmani is now the new leader of Dell’s Global Channel, Alliances & OEM Specialty sales team.

“Driss has been with Dell for 18 years and was most recently vice president of the [Infrastructure Solutions Group] Data Center Presales Channel team for EMEA,” said Dell in a statement to CRN. 

“He also has extensive core sales leadership experience in enterprise and emerging markets. This move is another example of our commitment to drive strategic growth through the promotion of leaders with expertise across core, specialty, services and channel sales.”

Read the full story here.

Wipro selects channel exec Sarah Adam-Gedge as ANZ MD

7 April

Global systems integrator Wipro appointed former Avanade leader Sarah Adam–Gedge as managing director for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

Adam-Gedge worked in project and service-based consultancies for more than 25 years across Australia and New Zealand, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.

Prior to joining Wipro, she held various senior executive roles including managing director of Publicis Sapient Australia, managing director of Avanade Australia, managing partner and Vice President at IBM, managing partner at PwC and partner at Arthur Andersen.

Read the full story here.

Citrix hires Neels du Plooy as ANZ channel chief

8 April

Server and networking solutions vendor Citrix appointed channel veteran Neels du Plooy as its new ANZ director of channels and alliances.

du Plooy revealed the new role on LinkedIn, more than one month after departing VMware, where he was its long-time channel chief.

Citrix confirmed the appointment, with du Plooy tasked to lead the company’s channel strategy and partner ecosystem growth across the Trans-Tasman market, reporting to Citrix APJ vice president of channel Kathy Chen.

du Plooy replaced Brian McColm, who was promoted to ANZ director of sales, Northern, leading the Citrix business in New South Wales, Queensland and New Zealand. McColm served as Citrix’ ANZ director of channels since 2017.

Read the full story here.

ICT Networks reveals new chief executive

13 April

ICT Networks named its senior business development manager Mark Maloney as its new chief executive.

The appointment followed the tragic passing of previous CEO Rob Kingma, who the channel lost suddenly in September last year.

The announcement said Maloney’s collaborative leadership style and close relationships with staff and clients were key factors in the decision to name him CEO.

“I’m honoured to accept the position of CEO,” Maloney said. “I know I have big shoes to fill, but Rob was an excellent mentor and I am confident we can move forward in tribute to the robust foundations he has laid for us over the past decade.”

Read the full story here.

Ex-Symantec, Cylance channel exec Joe McPhillips joins SentinelOne

13 April

Cybersecurity platform vendor SentinelOne appointed long-time channel exec Joe McPhillips as its senior director of channel sales for Asia-Pacific and Japan.

SentinelOne announced the appointment on its LinkedIn and Twitter.

McPhillips most recently left a similar role at BlackBerry and was tasked to build out SentinelOne’s channel business.

He was previously the Asia-Pacific director of channels at security platform company Cylance since 2018, maintaining the role after it was acquired by BlackBerry in 2020.

Prior to that, he was channel director at Blue Coat Systems from 2015 to 2017 when the company was acquired by Symantec.

Other channel roles include stints at Intel Security, Riverbed Technology, Commvault and Netintelligence.

Read the full story here.

Ex-Lenovo DCG channel chief Frank Eagleton jumps to Aircall

22 April

Cloud communications platform vendor Aircall appointed Frank Eagleton to lead its Asia-Pacific channel.

Eagleton was hired out of Lenovo Data Centre Group (now Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group), where he was ANZ channel chief from 2019 to February 2021.

The appointment came as Aircall looked to ramp up its presence in Asia-Pacific, with an initial focus in Australia.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for me - when you look at the market, in Australia specifically, more than half of companies have adopted a cloud-first strategy,” Eagleton told CRN.

“With Aircall being a 100 percent cloud-based phone system, it’s in prime position to capture the opportunities in the market at the moment. It’s exciting and I’m loving every minute in my new role,” Eagleton added.

Read the full story here.

ANZ channel chief Luke Skinner leaves WatchGuard

10 May

Luke Skinner resigned from the role of ANZ channel and distribution manager for WatchGuard Technologies after nearly two years with the company.

He announced his resignation on LinkedIn, saying  “With Friday being my last day with WatchGuard Technologies I'd like to thank all the disties, partners and customers I've had the pleasure of working with over the past 2yrs. To everyone at #WatchGuard - a huge thank you - I wish you all the best!” 

Skinner joined Lenovo ISG as ANZ  SMB authorised channel manager, head of distribution.

Skinner’s career in the IT channel has spanned at least 18 years including stints at distributors WhiteGold Solutions (later acquired by Exclusive Networks) and Ingram Micro Australia and UK, services provider Next Technologies, before he took up the ANZ channel leadership mantle for WatchGuard.

Read the full story here.

VMware names new ANZ channel chief

11 May

Virtualisation vendor VMware appointed Olga Specjalska to lead its newly restructured channel partner ecosystem in Australia and New Zealand.

Specjalska directly replaced ANZ head of channels Neels du Plooy, who left the company in April, while also getting a wider remit in the new role of ANZ director of partner business.

Specjalska was promoted from her role as ANZ marketing director to lead the team responsible for VMware’s ecosystem go-to-market program in ANZ, including distribution, global systems integrators and outsourcing, OEMs, solution providers, services partnerships, partner readiness and business development.

“I look forward to working closely with our partners across Australia and New Zealand to support our customers’ unique needs as they evolve their technology strategies,” Specjalska said.

Read the full story here.

Asus ANZ channel chief Vai Le joins fintech company Emersion

17 May

Vai Le took up the role of channel alliance manager at billing automation platform provider Emersion after his successful tenure at Asus.

As the Asus ANZ commercial channel manager, Le worked to reboot their B2B channel business strategy. He leaves on a positive note, having established the company’s first ANZ ISP/telco partnership with Singtel/Optus.

“I’m excited to have recently joined the Emersion team,” Le told CRN. “I wanted to get back into the FinTech SaaS space, which is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. 

He explained that his goal for the company in the next few years is to strengthen Emersion's channel presence by providing partners with training tools and resources, forming user groups and holding regular focused webinars and events.

Read the full story here.

Hills names David Clarke chief executive

17 May

Distributor Hills Limited appointed healthcare and technology executive David Clarke as its new chief executive officer.

Clarke replaced David Lenz, the distributor’s chief executive from 2018 until his upcoming retirement in July 2021. Clarke will work alongside Lenz until his departure to ensure a seamless transition.

Speaking on his appointment, Clarke said, “I’m excited to be taking on this leadership role at Hills. I look forward to working with the board and the entire Hills team, supporting the success of our customers and suppliers, and generating growth that provides a sustainable return for our shareholders.”

Read the full story here.

Karl Sice to take helm of Arrow ANZ enterprise business

21 May

Arrow Electronics named Karl Sice as general manager of its enterprise computing solutions business in Australia and New Zealand, to replace Andrew Assad.

Sice took over the role on June 1, 2021, moving on from his current position as country business leader for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise.

Arrow EMEA and ANZ enterprise computing solutions business president Eric Nowak said, “Karl combines extensive international leadership skills working across Asia-Pac and the United States, with strong business relationships in Australia and New Zealand. His breadth of experience will add great value to our customers, and continue moving Arrow forward in this key strategic region.”

Read the full story here.

SolarWinds' Mike Prieto moves to ANZ regional director role

25 May

SolarWinds’ head of Asia Pacific channel sales Mike Prieto was appointed as the company’s new regional director for Australia and New Zealand. 

Prieto replaced Anthony Daniel who moved to WatchGuard in March of this year.

The company said his specific focus will be on developing deeper relationships with “Appointing Mike is a crucial step in our investment and commitment to the ANZ business, as it supports the broader APAC region as a growth engine for SolarWinds globally,” Lee said.

Prieto has spent 25 years in the IT industry and moved back to Sydney from Singapore in 2019. Before starting with SolarWinds, he held director and vice president positions with various companies including Dell EMC, HP and Micron.

Read the full story here.

Apptio names first ANZ channel chief

3 June

Technology business management and cost optimisation software vendor Apptio appointed Marie Nalty as its first channel chief for Australia and New Zealand.

Nalty assumed the newly created role of alliances and channels manager for Australia and New Zealand as part of Apptio’s strategy to double down investment in its local partner business.

Apptio said it was expanding its partner community to meet demand related to agile and cloud migration support, related to its recent acquisition of Targetprocess and launch of its new cloud migration solution, Cloudability Shift. The company is also working more closely with AWS.

Read the full story here.

Rubrik taps Nutanix’s Ian Morris to lead ANZ channel

3 June

Ian Morris made the jump to lead Rubrik’s channel presence in ANZ after leaving his role as distribution and alliances sales manager at Nutanix.

Morris takes the role of ANZ channel director, replacing Nick Laidler, who was named Snowflake’s first ANZ partner manager.

He said he took the position because he sees the company’s cloud data management roadmap as a way that partners can help businesses solve the challenges they face due to disruption.

“Rubrik’s data security provides an important line of defence and helps partners answer their customers’ most pressing questions regarding their business data: What is the content of their data? What is happening to that data? And who is accessing important business information?”

Read the full story here.

Bulletproof founder Anthony Woodward named Logicalis Australia's new CEO

30 June

UK-based IT services provider Logicalis appointed Anthony Woodward as its new chief executive for Australia.

Woodward is the founder and former chief executive of Microsoft partner Bulletproof, which was acquired by AC3 in 2018, as well as Accelera, which decided to wind down operations following his departure as CEO.

Woodward replaced Logicalis Group chief operations officer and current Australia CEO Michael Chanter, who held the position for five years and was appointed as chairman of the Australian business.

In a statement, the company outlined that it is in a period of “significant transformational change” as it aims to increase its cloud managed services revenue while continuing to grow its Microsoft business.

Read the full story here.

Veeam taps Forcepoint’s Klasie Holtzhausen to replace Janet Docherty as ANZ channel chief

1 July

Backup vendor Veeam Software's ANZ channel sales director Janet Docherty left the company and Forcepoint Pacific regional director Klasie Holtzhausen was appointed as her replacement. 

Speaking on Docherty's departure Veeam ANZ vice president Gary Mitchell told CRN, "We wish Janet every success in her future endeavours.”

On his appointment, Holtzhausen said, “Veeam has had an incredible track record in the past 18 months with the success of v11, completing support for all three major public cloud providers and consistent double-digit revenue growth."

Read the full story here.

IBM's Kyndryl names Kerry Purcell to lead ANZ

2 July

As IBM was gearing up for the spin-off of managed services brand Kyndryl, it named the execs who would make up its senior leadership team.

The company named Kerry Purcell, at the time the general manager for IBM Global Technology Services Japan, as the new president for Kyndryl Australia and New Zealand, along with nine other regional leaders of markets that represent more than three-quarters of Kyndryl’s revenue. 

Read the full story here.

RMS Australia's Sydney office taps Unisys' Ashwin Pal as risk advisory lead

5 July

Perth-headquartered professional services provider RSM Australia announced the appointment of six new partners including former Unisys APAC director of cybersecurity Ashwin Pal.

As well as becoming a partner of RSM, Pal is joining the company as director of the risk advisory division in Sydney, specialising in privacy and security.

In a LinkedIn post about the career move, Pal said, “I reflect on my time at Unisys and can only recall positive memories. Five years flew past with many clients needs addressed and some life long friendships made.

Read the full story here.

Aussie cloud ERP vendor Wiise taps Dropbox Australia's Charlie Wood as new CEO

6 July

Australian cloud ERP vendor Wiise appointed former Dropbox Australia boss Charlie Wood as its new chief executive.

Wood replaced outgoing CEO Jonathan Attia, who will stay on at Wiise as a board advisor.

"Joining Wiise is a very exciting and unique opportunity,” Wood said.

“The acceleration of digital transformation to cloud and SaaS based platforms is really in this moment. Wiise is in a unique position to help its customer and partner network capitalise on that opportunity and drive great business value."

Read the full story here.

Deloitte Digital names Esan Tabrizi as new Aussie boss

7 July

Deloitte’s digital consultancy Deloitte Digital appointed Esan Tabrizi as its new head of Australia.

Tabrizi replaced Steve Hallam, who moved to Deloitte Consulting to lead its Enterprise Technology & Performance practice.

“It’s a massive honour to be taking over the leadership of Australia’s leading digital consultancy. We have an amazing team that is at the forefront of shaping outcomes for our clients and their industries – from financial services and the public sector, to wealth and retail,” Tabrizi said.

Read the full story here.

Aussie security vendor Firstwave CEO Neil Pollock departs

8 July

ASX-listed cybersecurity solutions vendor Firstwave revealed its chief executive officer Neil Pollock left the company after 12 months into the role.

The company said Pollock tendered his resignation and will depart immediately with executive chairman John Grant stepping in on an interim basis.

“The FirstWave board acknowledges Neil’s contribution to FirstWave since 2017, including over the last 12 months as CEO,” Grant said. “Neil leaves with our best wishes for his future endeavours.”

Read the full story here.

Fujitsu Australia taps NTT’s Mark Trumble to lead ANZ cybersecurity

8 July

Fujitsu Australia appointed former NTT cybersecurity director Mark Trumble as the new head of cybersecurity portfolio for Australia and New Zealand.

Trumble replaced Martin Holzworth leading the development of the portfolio throughout the region.

Trumble told CRN that he is “really excited to be joining and contributing to the growth and client success outcomes we will achieve in the coming months and years.”

Read the full story here.

Citrix's Brian McColm jumps to Autodesk as channel chief

12 July

Former Citrix ANZ channel chief Brian McColm left the company and joined software company Autodesk as its ANZ channel chief.

McColm revealed the change on his LinkedIn profile, taking the reins of senior channel manager for Autodesk ANZ. 

McColm replaces long-time Autodesk executive Clare Wharrier, who left the company in March to run the global channel program of construction management vendor Procore as senior director of global channel.

Read the full story here.

Janet Docherty speaks on new role as Palo Alto APJ channel chief

14 July

Janet Docherty, who resigned as the local channel chief for Veeam, took up a new channel leadership role with Palo Alto Networks.

Docherty has stepped into the role of JAPAC (Japan and Asia Pacific) channel and commercial sales director, a newly created position at the cybersecurity company. 

"I'm really excited to join Palo Alto Networks. To be part of a company with double digit growth YoY and with a partner first strategy is key for me. I'm most excited about meeting new partners within the JAPAC region and re-engaging with partners and distributors I have worked with in the past,” Docherty told CRN.

Read the full story here.

Google Cloud names new ANZ vice president

28 July

Google Cloud has appointed former VMware exec Alister Dias as vice president for Australia and New Zealand.

Dias spent almost five and a half years with VMware, most recently as Asia Pacific and Japan networking and security vice president.

On his appointment, Dias said, “I’m thrilled to embark on this new journey. Google Cloud’s innovative technology and industry-based solutions support some of the most digitally advanced organisations in the region. I’m excited to continue this growth and support even more ANZ businesses.” 

Read the full story here.

Vertiv bulks ANZ channel team

28 July

Critical infrastructure vendor Vertiv hired Michelle Du Plessis from Anixter as its new ANZ channel sales coordinator and Locksley McKay from Sapio as channel sales executive.

Du Plessis took full ownership of Vertiv’s channel partner program, working with its resellers and distributor Tech Data, as well as the company’s regional team. 

“With the maturing of our new partner program, I’m taking full ownership in helping smaller partners compete in the depths of the channel and become more self-sufficient by taking away the complexity at the user level. We are also injecting incentives for the innovative work they do,” Du Plessis said.

Read the full story here.

Over the Wire CEO Scott Smith resigns

2 August

Scott Smith resigned as chief executive of ASX-listed telco Over the Wire after just over a year in the role.

Smith joined Over the Wire in 2018 as a part of the $16 million acquisition of Comlinx ($12.8 million cash, $3.2 in shares), which he co-founded in 2006.

Starting with Over the Wire as the Comlinx general manager, Smith moved into the role of chief executive in March of 2020.

In an ASX announcement on the resignation, Over the Wire said that Smith “made a significant contribution – building out the strategy … developing the leadership team and helping the company navigate the uncertainty brought about by COVID-19.”

Read the full story here.

Rackspace names Angeline Maronese as ANZ boss

3 August

Multicloud technology vendor Rackspace Technology appointed Angeline Maronese as its managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

Maronese was promoted from director of sales to replace Sean Girvin, who joins Rackspace’s US headquarters as SVP Acquisition Americas and managing director for Canada.

“It is an honour to step into this position at Rackspace Technology at a time of such exciting growth for the organisation,” Maronese said. “I look forward to building on strong foundations and leading this high calibre team to continue making an impact that matters.

Read the full story here.

Former Microsoft channel chief Gavriella Schuster exits the company after over 25 years

6 August

Former longtime Microsoft channel chief Gavriella Schuster left the technology company at the end of August to pursue new opportunities.

Schuster worked at Microsoft for nearly 26 years.

In March, Microsoft announced that effective April 1, Rodney Clark would replace Schuster as its channel chief, a role she held for five years.

Schuster remained with the company to help Clark settle into his new position and retaining her role as corporate vice president of Microsoft’s One Commercial Partner program.

Read the full story here.

AWS names new ANZ boss

6 August

Amazon Web Services appointed Rianne Van Veldhuizen as its new ANZ managing director, just six months after joining the cloud giant.

Van Veldhuizen moved into the role after joining AWS in January as its head of SMB for Asia Pacific and Japan.

She replaced Adam Beavis who moved to run the company’s ISV and digital native business in APAC.

Prior to joining AWS, Van Veldhuizen was at IBM for close to 16 years where she held multiple roles including head of cloud and was ultimately charged with running the company’s commercial business in APAC.

Read the full story here.

Riverbed hires TechOne exec Tony Wright as ANZ lead after a 12-month search

10 August

Network technology vendor Riverbed appointed former TechnologyOne executive Tony Wright as its country manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Wright filled the role after it had been unfilled for 12 months. Previously known as ANZ regional vice president, the role was held by Frank Ong from February to August 2020.

Speaking on his appointment, Wright said, “Riverbed is perfectly positioned to drive a new phase of growth across Australia and New Zealand, and I look forward to continuing to build on the momentum the team has already created.”

Read the full story here.

Boomi names Nathan Gower as ANZ managing director

17 August

Integration platform as a service vendor Boomi appointed Nathan Gower as its managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

Gower succeeded long-time ANZ managing director Nicholas Lambrou, who left the company in June to lead internet of things telco Thinxtra.

“Informed decision making will be critical in this new, digital economy, and my priority is to enable organisations to connect their systems, processes, and data to remove any fragmentation and overcome their historic habits,” Gower said.

Read the full story here.

Cradlepoint appoints two new APAC channel execs

18 August

Wireless network solutions vendor Cradlepoint made two hires to bolster the company’s APAC partner team.

Judy Faulkner was named the new partner account manager for Australia and New Zealand and Tim Karamitos joined as regional sales manager, managed service providers for Asia Pacific. 

On her appointment, Faulkner said, “I’m so excited to join Cradlepoint, a company that is ahead of the curve in Wireless WAN technology. I can’t wait to share this technology with the greater channel community.”

Read the full story here.

NetApp's Goran Risticevic departs after a decade to join AWS

24 August

Goran Risticevic moved to AWS to take up the role of head of strategic partners and initiatives for Asia Pacific and Japan, after ten years as a channel leader for NetApp.

Risticevic announced his move to AWS in a LinkedIn post on Monday saying, “It has been an exciting journey working as a Managing Director, Strategic Global Partners APAC, and I would like to thank the NetApp team for their support over the last 10 years.

“I'm thrilled to be joining Amazon Web Services (AWS) where I will be contributing to AWS team as the Head of Strategic Partners and Initiatives across Asia-Pacific & Japan.”

Read the full story here.

Canberra MSP xAmplify Group hires former EY, PwC partner Ken Maxwell as CEO

6 September

Canberra-based managed services provider xAmplify Group appointed Ken Maxwell as managing director and chief executive officer.

Maxwell replaced Michael Ninness, who will remain at xAmplify as a board director and will continue to have an active role in the company’s operations.

Speaking on his new role, Maxwell said, “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to come onboard to lead xAmplify through the next stage of growth. The technology and AI industries within Australia are seeing rapid growth, and the importance of having an Australian sovereign business providing world class tech to Government and Australian industry is more vital than ever.

Read the full story here.

Former AWS ANZ, APJ boss Paul Migliorini joins Versent as CEO

7 September

Former Amazon Web Services managing director for Australia and New Zealand Paul Migliorini joined AWS partner Versent as chief executive.

Migliorini replaced Versent founder Thor Essman, who will move to chairman of the board of directors after leading the business as CEO since its founding in 2014. Migliorini was also a non-executive director at Versent before this appointment, but will give up the board seat to focus on the CEO role.

Speaking on his new role, Migliorini said, “I am humbled to receive this appointment to company CEO with full support from the board."

"It has been a privilege to work alongside Thor, the Versent board and our team over the past year to build this strong foundation upon which we will further accelerate our growth and impact for customers.”

Read the full story here.

Vocus' Charlotte Schraa to run channel program in expanded role

7 September

Vocus tapped Charlotte Schraa to run its channel partner program as part of an expanded role as general manager of channel and go-to-market.

Schraa took over from general manager for enterprise and state government sales Julia Walsh, who left earlier this year to join Uniti Group. 

“I’m thrilled to take on this expanded role and lead our indirect channel program. There’s an enormous opportunity to build on all the good work that’s been done over recent years to integrate partners into our business, and now take our strategy further, and really maximise the growth opportunities we’re seeing in the market,” Schraa said.

Read the full story here.

Ping Identity appoints ANZ channel leader

8 September

Identity access management vendor Ping Identity appointed Robert Cipriani as Australia and New Zealand channel manager. 

Cipriani moved into the role from data protection vendor Druva where he was an enterprise account executive.

“I’m looking forward to leveraging Ping Identity’s partner ecosystem to continue to enable customers to achieve their security objectives by helping them take advantage of best-of-breed  Zero Trust identity-defined security solutions, along with complementary partner solutions and services," Cipriani said.

Read the full story here.

Superloop chairman Bevan Slattery steps down, taps Amaysim founder, ex-CEO Peter O'Connell as replacement

9 September

Superloop founder and serial entrepreneur Bevan Slattery announced he would retire as the company’s board chairman in November, with Amaysim founder and former CEO Peter O’Connell named as his replacement.

“Having the opportunity to pick when and how you take a step back from a business you founded is always an important decision. As with previous listed companies, I don’t think I’ve been more sure than I am now,” Slattery said in the ASX announcement.

O'Connell said, "Superloop is now positioned very well to accelerate customer growth and asset utilisation. I look forward to working with my fellow directors, the executive team and the employees of Superloop to make a real difference in the Australian telco market."

Read the full story here.

Cloudera ANZ boss Nick Hoskins departs, names Apptio's Robert Yue as replacement

13 September

Enterprise data cloud SaaS vendor Cloudera named former Apptio APJ boss Robert Yue to lead its Australia and New Zealand business as vice president and managing director.

Yue replaced former ANZ country manager Nick Hoskins, who had been in the role from 2018.

“The future is hybrid cloud and I’m looking forward to leading our team as we help our customers and partners successfully unlock their potential. Our focus will continue to place our customers at the centre of everything we do while also strengthening our partner relationships to drive more strategic value,” said Yue.

Read the full story here.

Avanade names Laura Malcolm as Australian general manager

14 September

Microsoft partner Avanade appointed Laura Malcolm as its general manager for Australia.

Malcolm replaced outgoing managing director Mahmood “Mac” Ghani, who moved into Avanade’s global business as global growth and strategy executive.

“I’m excited to step into this new role - helping our people realise their full potential, supporting our clients through a period of accelerated digital transformation and helping them prepare for the future through digital innovation,” Malcolm said.

Read the full story here.

Arrow ECS ANZ vendor alliances director Lisa Stockwell departs

15 September

Arrow ECS' local director of vendor alliances Lisa Stockwell left the company after 11 years.

The distributor named Hope McGarry from Sydney channel marketing services company OneAffiniti as Stockwell’s successor, effective 1 October 2021.

Stockwell also revealed the news on LinkedIn, thanking her colleagues at Arrow and said she would be taking some time off.

McGarry joined Arrow after working at OneAffiniti as client service director from 2017 to August 2021, working with clients like Arrow, Dicker Data, Ingram Micro, HPE, and Fujitsu.

Read the full story here.

Nextgen creates head of cybersecurity role

20 September

Australian distributor Nextgen Group has promoted Gabe Marzano from cybersecurity business manager to the newly created head of cybersecurity role.

Group CEO John Walters told CRN that the promotion was in response to the “rapid growth” of Nextgen’s cybersecurity business unit.

According to Walters, the Nextgen Cyber team is “based on ex-military individuals, who had “clearances” and importantly had experience actively hunting, fighting, and neutralising terrorists, cyber-terrorists, cyber-crime, and organised crime.”

Marzano’s history includes a stint as a sales executive at SAP, years as a professional footballer, and working as an Officer with the Australian Army becoming the first female to qualify as an Army Work Diver.

Read the full story here.

AWS local channel chief Davinia Simon jumps to channel partner Stax

21 September

Amazon Web Services ANZ channel chief Davinia Simon left the company to join Sydney-based AWS partner, cloud management platform vendor Stax.

Simon joined Stax as head of sales and growth markets alongside two other hires, Versent’s Amanda Iwasaki as head of operations and Prayna Prasad as head of marketing.

“Stax is a sophisticated and effortless solution to an inherently complex global problem. Based on all the current success metrics, Stax undoubtedly has a global trajectory ahead of it and I’m excited to be a part of the team to take this business to the next stage,” Simon said.

Read the full story here.

TeamViewer appoints first local channel chief

5 October

Remote desktop vendor TeamViewer increased its local channel investment with the appointment of Kimberley Chandler as its first ANZ channel chief.

Chandler joined the company from Ingram Micro Cloud where she was partner success manager. 

“TeamViewer is a trusted, secure, loyal brand, Chandler told CRN. “I also know some account managers and the leadership team was important to me, I wanted to join a growing company where I can grow.”

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Datto ANZ boss James Bergl departs after more than six years

6 October

Datto regional vice president for Australia and New Zealand James Bergl left the company after more than six years at the helm.

Bergl announced the move on LinkedIn, saying he plans to take the rest of 2021 off before taking on a new role.

“It’s with mixed emotions that I am announcing that I have made the decision to leave Datto after six incredible years,” Bergl’s post read.

“I will be taking the rest of the year off to recharge and spend time with my (new) family which I am extremely excited about!”

Bergl helped launch Datto in Australia in 2015 as both regional vice president for Australia and New Zealand and director of sales for Asia-Pacific. 

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Insentra hires Datacom, AC3 exec Marisa Newham to join partner team

7 October

Sydney’s Insentra hired former AC3 and Datacom sales exec Marisa Newham as its strategic partnership manager.

Insentra director of global sales and partnerships Steve Boi said the company had worked with Newham in her previous roles.

“We have always had a strong relationship with Marisa,” Boi said. “As a Partner for over 10 years, Marisa often engaged Insentra for her client’s projects."

Speaking on her new role, Newham said, “I am excited to be joining Insentra in a role where I can make a difference by growing the existing Partner base and cementing new relationships."

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Brisbane's Insite Technology hires Telstra veteran Charles Paramananthan as CEO

11 October

Brisbane managed services provider Insite Communications has appointed Charles Paramananthan as its new chief executive.

Paramananthan also announced his new role in a LinkedIn post, with the new role marking the end of a brief sabbatical after more than 20 years at Telstra.

“What drew me to Insite Communications was our alignment of values, culture and passion for technology," he said. "Insite Communications is also a Telstra partner and I hope my fresh set of eyes will help the already strong relationship thrive even more.”

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MOQ Group names new CEO

12 October

MOQ Limited appointed Peter Ward as its chief executive officer, replacing long time boss Joe D’Addio.

Ward stepped up to the role from his position of chief solutions officer at MOQ, a role he held since MOQ acquired the company he previously ran, WARDY IT Solutions, in September 2019.

“Joe [D'Addio] has built a high calibre team around him that I am privileged to have the opportunity to lead," Ward said. "I am proud of the progress that we have achieved over the last two years, as we established a solid foundation to enable our growth and help enable organisations to accelerate their digital transformation with MOQ’s services.”

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Ivanti names new ANZ channel chief

13 October

US-based asset management vendor Ivanti appointed Karen Nicholson as its Australia and New Zealand channel manager, taking over from Rose Old who was promoted to telco and carrier business director for the region.  

“There's a lot of enthusiasm amongst our partners to build pipeline and generate revenue together,” said Nicholson. “It’s such an exciting time to be joining Ivanti, and I look forward to connecting with our partners and collaborating closely on our plans for growth, profitability, and self-sufficiency.” 

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Box ANZ channel chief Verity White jumps to IBM

19 October

Verity White, Box’s regional director of partner sales for Australia and New Zealand, departed the cloud content management software vendor after more than three years.

White revealed the change on LinkedIn, posting that she had moved to IBM as Asia-Pacific partner and ecosystem leader for its application resource management software subsidiary, Turbonomic.

“I'm excited to drive more growth and partner success in Asia Pacific and deliver on our customer strategy, which is fuelled by growing customer demand to truly optimise applications in public cloud, leverage hybrid cloud, and edge technologies," White said.

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Schneider Electric names new IT and edge channel leader

27 October

Energy management solutions provider Schneider Electric appointed former employee Astrid Groves as IT and edge general manager, who will lead the channel business for the company’s Secure Power division.

“My long-term ambition is to build a business ecosystem that can remove tech barriers for both individuals and the wider community, helping customers imagine the impossible. To achieve that, we will work to empower our IT partners through strategic alliance and collaboration,” Groves said.

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Orro Group bolsters leadership team with new cloud, networking and security leads

27 October

Sydney-based networking and infrastructure specialist Orro Group bolstered its leadership team with new leads for its cloud, networking and cybersecurity pillars.

Jonathan Plaskow was named director of cloud services, leading Orro’s cloud services, machine learning and artificial intelligence business.

Matthew Counsell, who joined from Unisys, was hired as director of network services to lead the development and delivery of networking solutions.

Manuel Salazar took the role of director of cybersecurity to lead managed detection and response (CSOC services), assurance testing, security incident response and threat and vulnerability management services.

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Google Cloud ANZ channel chief Rhody Burton jumps to HashiCorp

8 November

Google Cloud head of cloud partnerships and alliances Rhody Burton left the company to join cloud infrastructure vendor HashiCorp.

Burton announced the move on LinkedIn, saying she joined HashiCorp as APJ director of partner sales.

“What a phenomenal ride it has been,” Burton’s LinkedIn announcement read. “I’m so proud of my incredible team, the amazing partner community we have built, the number of customers we have helped innovate with Google Cloud technology and most of all what I have learned.”

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Zoom hires ex-Nutanix, Dell exec Jacob Pereira as APAC channel chief

9 November

Video communications behemoth Zoom hired channel veteran Jacob Pereira as its new head of channels for Asia-Pacific.

Pereira joined from Nutanix, where he was senior director of channels for Asia-Pacific and Japan from 2017 to November this year.

Based in Singapore, he took responsibility for Zoom’s partner ecosystem and overseeing partners.

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Cisco names Rodney Hamill as new ANZ channel chief

11 November

Cisco named Rodney Hamill as its Australia and New Zealand channel chief as Luke Power moves to its commercial business.

Hamill joined as ANZ partner organisation director, coming in from Cisco’s cloud infrastructure business, which he led for the past four years.

He joined Cisco in 2010, holding a number of sales roles in its cloud and infrastructure business before becoming its ANZ director in 2017. In that role, he was responsible for the go-to-market strategy and partner alliance solutions. 

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Tesserent names Kurt Hansen sole CEO in leadership shuffle

19 November

ASX-listed cybersecurity services company Tesserent named Kurt Hansen its sole chief executive.

The move came after co-CEO Julian Challingsworth was appointed to the role of chairman of Tesserent Innovation, the company’s cyber technologies and products development business.

Challingsworth also stepped down from the board but has remained involved in Tesserent as a whole through ongoing consulting support on mergers and acquisitions work and investor relations.

Non-executive chair Geoff Lord also assumed the role of executive chairman, and chief financial officer James Jones will take on additional responsibilities across M&A and Investor relations.

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Avaya brings former Canada channel chief Miles Davis home to lead APJ channel

19 November

Communications vendor Avaya named channel veteran Miles Davis as its channel chief for Southeast Asia, Pacific and Japan.

Davis has returned to Sydney after 16 years working in Canada. Prior to the return to local shores, Davis was the channel sales leader for Avaya Canada.

“Channel partners have emerged as a guiding light to business and enterprise customers on all things technology, and I will endeavour to help them navigate common customer queries, particularly regarding how value-added services and third-party applications can improve operations, and how artificial intelligence (AI) and automation can augment the customer and employee experience," Davis said.

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Cloud security vendor ExtraHop names Tanya Hovagimian as first ANZ channel manager

22 November

Cloud-native network detection and response platform vendor ExtraHop named Tanya Hovagimian as its first channel manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Based in Sydney, Hovagimian took the role of managing ExtraHop’s channel and managed security service provider business, as well as its alliance, reseller, technology and partnership initiatives.

"It's exciting to be joining a fast-growing company with a major market opportunity that is also absolutely committed to scaling high quality partnerships to grow and enhance its customers’ cybersecurity," Hovagimian said.

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Ruba Borno named AWS' new global channel chief

23 November

Amazon Web Services turned to Cisco Systems veteran and “change agent” Ruba Borno to lead its global partner program.

Borno, previously senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s global customer experience centres, replaced prior AWS global channel chief Doug Yeum beginning Dec. 6.

Borno is AWS' third global channel chief in less than three years for its AWS Partner Network (APN), which has grown to more than 100,000 partners and is adding 50 partners per day in its ninth year, according to the cloud computing provider.

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Rhipe CEO Dominic O’Hanlon departs

24 November

Dominic O’Hanlon stepped down as chief executive of cloud-focused distributor Rhipe as the company was set to finalise its acquisition by Crayon.

Mark McLellan, the distie’s chief financial and operating officer, took over the company’s top job.

“I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved over the past seven years and have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at Rhipe,” O’Hanlon said in a statement. 

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NBN Co chairman Ziggy Switkowski to resign

24 November

NBN Co unveiled a board shakeup with Dr Ziggy Switkowski set to leave his role as chair at the end of the year, with current board member Kate McKenzie to succeed him.

The vacant board spot will be filled by Nerida Caesar, who will be a non-executive director for three years from January 1, 2022.

All three - Switkowski, McKenzie and Caesar - were at one time former senior executives at Telstra.

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SolarWinds names new global channel chief

2 December

IT management platform vendor SolarWinds has created a new global channel chief position, appointing channel veteran Jeff McCullough to help the company build a new channel strategy.

“It’s an exciting time to be part of a larger growth strategy, and I believe the team has a great opportunity to build momentum,” McCullough said of his appointment.

“Strategic partnerships will play a critical role to help accelerate that growth, and I look forward to leading the team and aligning our global partnering resources under one vision and strategy,” he said.

Read the full story here.

WatchGuard names N-Able's Michelle Liao as channel, distie manager

6 December

Network security and intelligence software vendor WatchGuard Technologies appointed Michelle Liao as channel and distribution manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Liao replaced Luke Skinner who left the company in May 2021 after two years in the role to join Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group.

She joined from MSP software vendor N-Able (formerly Solarwinds MSP), where she was senior partner success manager from April 2021.

Speaking on her new role, Liao said, “I’m excited to work with partners to fulfil key market objectives including driving new business, reinforcing a competitive advantage, and creating demonstrable business value through our portfolio of best-in-class, market-leading security solutions.”

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VMware Carbon Black names Interactive's Darren Reid as ANZ boss

10 December

VMware hired Darren Reid to lead its security subsidiary, Carbon Black, in Australia and New Zealand.

Reid replaced Rob Dooley, who was promoted to lead the Carbon Black business in Asia-Pacific and Japan in August this year.

“After nearly five fabulous years at Interactive, including developing a new indirect channel and recruiting and developing a world-class marketing team, I have taken an opportunity for a short break before joining VMware to lead the VMware Carbon Black business in Australia & New Zealand,” Reid’s LinkedIn post announcing the move read.

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Security vendor Illumio hires Comstor's Marco Hermosura as ANZ channel chief

10 December

Data centre and cloud security vendor Illumio hired Marco Hermosura as its channel manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Hermosura revealed the move on LinkedIn, shortly after announcing his departure from Westcon-Comstor after close to three years with the distributor.

“And just like that my time here as Comstor's merch guy, video producer and sometimes cyber security guy is over. It's been an amazing and enjoyable (almost) 3 years, and I hope all that I had engaged with felt the same,” Hermosura’s LinkedIn post read.

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Lenovo names Sunny Gandhi as sole ANZ channel chief across data centre, devices units

13 December

Lenovo consolidated its Australia and New Zealand channel leadership with Sunny Gandhi appointed as One Channel leader, starting on 1 January 2022.

Gandhi will lead the vendor’s commercial channel across its data centre (Infrastructure Solutions Group) and PCs and smart device (Intelligent Device Group) units locally.

Prior to the new role, Gandhi has been Lenovo IDG’s ANZ head of channel and distribution since early 2019.

Read the full story here.