The Aussie channel's biggest job shifts in 2018

The Australian IT industry moves fast.

It's no wonder then that it can be hard to keep track of all the major job shifts and positions that were taken up or abandoned in 2018.

And while there have been far too many individual job changes and movements to cover completely, we've taken some time to break out 2018's major appointments and departures in the Aussie channel.

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

Cylance names Jason Duerden as ANZ country manager

December 2017

Security software provider Cylance promoted its head of channels Jason Duerden to country manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Duerden was promoted to the newly created position as part of an effort by Cylance to expand its regional presence

“In the local market, we continue to see strong interest in Cylance’s technology and services from customers and partners, with a surge in uptake in the last 6 months,” Duerden said.

“I am extremely proud of our team’s achievements and excited to lead our continued growth, helping customers migrate to next-generation security.”

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Kaspersky Lab appoints Naina Parhar as Asia-Pacific channel boss

January

Kaspersky Lab appointed Naina Parhar as its head of channel sales for Asia-Pacific, replacing David Yue, who left in July last year.

Parhar works on Kaspersky's distribution framework and its new telesales business, and is also tasked with rolling out the company’s new global partner program for Asia-Pacific.

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Veeam appoints Gary Mitchell as replacement for former vice president Don Williams

January

Veeam appointed former RSA director Gary Mitchell as its vice president for Australia and New Zealand, to replace former VP Don Williams.

Mitchell's resume includes positions as a director at RSA, country manager for BMC Software and country manager for Enterasys Networks. His most recent role saw him establish the Asia-Pacific business for US-headquartered mobile application lab Perfecto Mobile.

Former ANZ vice president Don Williams left Veeam in October 2017 after seven years with the availability vendor, who announced he was taking a break after his departure.

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Acronis hires Neil Morarji as new ANZ general manager

January

Backup and disaster recovery vendor Acronis hired Neil Morarji to lead its Australian and New Zealand business as general manager.

Based in Sydney, Morarji's remit includes working with service providers and Acronis' distributors, Synnex, Ingram Micro, Rhipe and Exeed.

Prior to joining Acronis, Morarji helped to establish the Australian presence for virtualisation and hosting automation firm Parallels in 2009. Acronis and Parallels were both founded by Serguei Beloussov.

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Huawei names new Australian boss

January

Chinese smartphone and networking vendor Huawei announced Huang Ji, or George Huang, as its new Australian chief executive in January. 

Huang took over from outgoing boss James Zhao. Zhao assumed the role in February 2014.

Huawei Australia said the appointment fell in line with the company's global practice of rotating senior executives throughout different countries to "enable innovation and drive performance". 

Huang joined Huawei in 1996 and led the company's global human resources division prior to this appointment.

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Harbour ISP's Charles Tym steps down as CEO, names replacement from Harbour IT

February

Founder and chief executive of Harbour ISP Charles Tym stepped down from the role, naming Adam Simpson as his replacement in February.

Simpson later stepped down from the Harbour ISP chief executive role to focus on family and recharging the batteries, making way for Michael Giusti to take on the role.

Tym has continued to serve as a director the for Mudgee, New South Wales-based ISP, which he founded as a subsidiary of managed services provider Harbour IT.

Simpson was hired out of the now Canon-owned Harbour IT, and was most recently general manager of cloud services.

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SAP appoints former Oracle channel chief Patricia Nance to APAC role

February 

Software giant SAP appointed former Oracle channel chief Patricia Nance as its vice president of strategic partners for Asia-Pacific and Japan.

Based in Australia, Nance joined the regional partner team and manages the Accenture partnership across APAC, building business relationships and driving revenue.

The role sits over the Australian and New Zealand SAP channel business.

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CSA founder John Schneider steps down after 30 years

February

The founder and managing director of Computer Systems Australia John Schneider stepped back from the day-to-day operations after more than 30 years at the helm.

He was replaced by group executive, general manager of client solutions Brett Woods.

Schneider will stay on the Newcastle-headquartered company's board as chairman and non-executive director and will continue to give guidance to CSA going forward.

“CSA is in an exciting position and I’m confident that Brett will bring a new energy to CSA’s future that will guide the organisation into the next phase of its journey,” said Schneider.

Woods started at CSA in 2002 as a senior systems engineer before joining HP in 2004. He rejoined CSA in 2011 and was promoted through practice management, CTO and general management roles.

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Jonathan Odria takes reins of Exclusive Networks ANZ as fellow Whitegold directors step down

February 

Jonathan Odria was named managing director of Exclusive Networks Australia and New Zealand, taking the reins as his fellow Whitegold Solutions directors step down.

The move came as Odria and the two other founders of Whitegold, Dominic and Sharon Whitehand, completed their earnout after selling the distribution company to French-owned Exclusive Networks in 2014.

Exclusive Networks has now increased its shareholding in the local subsidiary from 70 percent to 100 percent after taking over the 10 percent stake that each director had retained following the sale.

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Hills CEO David Lenz appointed managing director

February

Hills chief executive David Lenz was appointed as managing director of the publicly listed distributor in February.

The appointment came 18 months after Lenz took the CEO role at Hills in September 2016 and three years after he joined the company from Ingram Micro.

Hills chairman Jennifer Hill-Ling said: "The board congratulates David on this appointment. Prior to taking on the role of chief executive officer in September 2016, David played key leadership role as the chief operations officer and head of Hills’ key Building Technologies division."

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Vocus chief executive Geoff Horth exits

February

Vocus chief executive Geoff Horth left the company after two years at the helm after coming to a mutual agreement with the telco.

The company said in a statement that Horth and Vocus had been considering a change in leadership since the start of the year, but had decided to bring the process forward.

Horth was previously chief executive of M2 Group before the consumer telco merged with Vocus in February 2016, when he was appointed to the top role of the newly combined company.

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IBM’s Australian channel chief Nigel Peach departs after six months

February

IBM’s Australian channel manager departed the company six months after taking up the position.

Nigel Peach, general manager business partner growth for Australia and New Zealand, has “decided to pursue opportunities outside IBM”, a company spokesperson confirmed to CRN. Peach himself was unable to comment at the time of writing.

In September 2018, Peach revealed he had joined Sydney consulting firm Digital Lifecycle Group.

Peach joined Big Blue in September 2017 from Pure Storage, and was tasked with leading the business’ partner growth strategy, focusing on bringing on new partners and expanding into new markets, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, cloud, security and IoT.

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David Gage resigns after 12 months at Westcon-Comstor

March

David Gage resigned as managing director of Westcon-Comstor after 12 months running the distributor's Australian business.

APAC director of vendor alliances Phil Cameron stepped into the managing director role. Cameron has been with Westcon since 2014, following a career that included IBM, CA Technologies and Lenovo.

Gage joined Westcon in March 2017 after a distinguished career in the IT channel, and his resignation came as the distributor closed its 2018 financial year.

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Xero founder Rod Drury steps down, former Microsoft chief Steve Vamos named successor

March

Xero founder Rod Drury stepped back from his role of chief executive, appointing former Microsoft Australia boss Steve Vamos as his successor.

Drury moved to a non-executive director role to focus on innovation and strategy in April.

Drury founded the cloud accounting software firm in Wellington in 2006, which listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange a year later. The company has since grown its subscriber base to 1.2 million and revenue in the first half of 2018 of $187.8 million.

"It's been a huge 11 plus years building Xero," said Drury. "It's amazing to consider we started with just four people in a small Wellington apartment and we now have over 2000 people across 17 offices in eight countries, and over 1.2 million subscribers."

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Superloop founder Bevan Slattery steps down as chief executive

March

Superloop founder Bevan Slattery stepped down from his position as chief executive, moving into an executive director role on 1 July to focus on “strategic priorities” for the network provider.

Drew Kelton, a director of Superloop sister company Megaport, was named Slattery’s successor in the position.

“Having started the company less than five years ago and heading towards completion of the integration of BigAir, I’m delighted that we’re now moving into the next phase of growth, with me stepping into an executive director’s role, freeing my up to focus on driving strategy and having a great CEO like Drew join the team to drive the performance of the business,” Slattery said.

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Mimecast appoints Rema Lolas as new Australian channel chief

March

Mimecast appointed Rema Lolas to lead its five-staff Australian channel team as part of a focus on driving business via local partners.

Lolas brings 14 years of experience in global channels, enterprise software sales and marketing, including a career at Citrix in Sydney and the US.

Nick Lennon, country manager, Australia and New Zealand, Mimecast, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Rema as our local channel director. Rema is recognised in the industry as an outstanding leader and has a strong track record, which she will be able to put to good use as we grow our channel team and build on our momentum in Australia and New Zealand."

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Broadband Solutions chief executive Sam Bashiry steps down

March

Telecommunications provider Broadband Solutions co-founder Sam Bashiry stepped down as chief executive, naming Peter Neatnica as the company’s new leader.

Bashiry moved into a new role to focus on the company’s strategy moving forward. Neatnica took up the chief executive post in April 2018.

A company spokesperson said stepping aside from day-to-day business would allow Bashiry to focus on global markets and the strategic direction of the overall group.

“I’m looking forward to working with Peter to further grow the business, leverage the capability of our own hosted PABX and create a new wholesale division that will give our current and new clients access to our wholesale back-end systems,” Bashiry said.

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Fortinet Australia channel chief changes

March

In March, security vendor Fortinet promoted Fiona Hodges from within to replace former Australian channel chief Genevieve White, who resigned in September 2017 to take a role at Telstra.

However, Hodges exited the role in November 2018 to take up the position of strategic partnership manager for Orange Sky Australia, an initiative that provides free laundry services to people experiencing homelessness.

In her place, Fortinet promoted South Australian channel manager Tim Fitzgerald to the role.

Fitzgerald joined Fortinet in September 2016 as channel partner manager based in Adelaide, coming over from Check Point Software when he was its South Australian territory manager.

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Telstra CIO John Romano departs

March

Telstra's chief information officer, John Romano, left after two years in the role and more than a decade working for the telco.

Romano was charged with leading Telstra's $3 billion digital transformation project, which kicked off in 2016.

Romano was also responsible for Telstra's IT strategy, focusing on cloud, IT architecture and simplification & resilience programs, according to his LinkedIn.

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NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow to exit this year

April

NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow announced he would step down from his role by the end of 2018, as the company "prepares to confront the new challenges ahead".

"I believe that as the company prepares to confront the new challenges ahead, this is the right time to hand over the reins for the next phase of this incredible project and for me to plan for the next step in my career."

Morrow led the company for four years and nine months.

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Tony Heywood leading US-based Telarus' expansion into Australia

April

Former vice president and country manager of Avaya partner AGC Networks Tony Heywood joined US-based Telarus to lead its expansion into Australia and New Zealand in April.

Telarus actually rebranded the Australian division to Tradewinds so as not to cause confusion with the eponymous Melbourne-based telco acquired by Over The Wire in 2016 .

Heywood joined the company as head of channels for ANZ, after departing AGC in November 2017, where he worked for more than four years.

“I am excited to be part of the Telarus team,” Heywood said.

“From my time at Westcon, local ISPs and systems integration partners, I worked alongside channel partners who focused on solving technology solutions using services they built themselves and/or resold under their own brand.”

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Hitachi Vantara cuts Aussie channel chief Phil Teague as it merges direct and indirect sales

April

Phil Teague, Australian channel chief at Hitachi Vantara, departed the role, as the company restructured its sales organisation and amended its partner program.

Australian and New Zealand vice president Nathan McGregor wrote to channel partners in April informing them of global changes to the company's partner program as part of a sales restructure.

The vendor claimed the change would provide partners with better access to customers and Hitachi Vantara’s install base and offer a model that would more tightly integrate partners into the vendor’s sales team. 

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Amazon Web Services' names new channel chief, Stefan Jansen promoted to new role

April

Amazon Web Services channels and alliances manager Stefan Jansen stepped into a new role within the Australian and New Zealand business.

“After more than four years as head of channels and alliances at Amazon Web Services in Australia and New Zealand, Stefan Jansen has been appointed to a new role as the head of training and certification, AWS ANZ,” a spokesperson said.

Corrie Briscoe was appointed to replace Jansen as ANZ channel chief in August.

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Intel Australia country manager VR Rajkumar exits after nearly 20 years

May

Intel’s Australian and New Zealand country manager, VR “Raj” Rajkumar, left the company after almost 20 years.

His last day at Intel was on 3 May. 

Rajkumar joined the vendor back in 2000 in India, before moving to the Australian business in 2005, where he was charged with managing Intel’s channel partners and sales team as ANZ distribution manager.

In 2012, he was appointed to the channel sales director role, and in 2016 became the regional sales director for Australia and New Zealand.

In July last year, Rajkumar stepped in as country manager for Australia and New Zealand, replacing former managing director Kate Burleigh, who went on to join Amazon as country manager for Alexa Skills.

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Datacom names new MDs in major restructure

May

Datacom named Stacey Tomasoni as managing director of Datacom Connect and Bob Peebles as managing director of Datacom Australia commercial as part of a major restructure. 

The restructure sought to deliver on Datacom group chief executive Greg Davidson's strategy, which he revealed to CRN in December 2017, to reorient the business so it operate more like a single entity rather than its legacy state-based structure.

Peebles was appointed to Datacom’s software business in May 2017, he was previously executive general manager of Oakton, acquired by Dimension Data in 2014.

Tomasoni was appointed as Australian Connect director in 2014, having been with the company since 2008.

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Extreme Networks' Yvette McEnearney promoted, new channel manager steps up

May 

Extreme Networks appointed Julian Critchlow as its ANZ channel manager as part of the networking vendor’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific market.

Critchlow takes the reins as channel boss from channel accounts sales manager Yvette McEnearney, who was promoted to senior manager for APJC distribution, reporting to the vendor’s head office in the United States.

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Vocus names former Telstra consumer boss Kevin Russell as CEO

May

Vocus Communications named Telstra's former consumer boss, Kevin Russell, as its new managing director and chief executive, three months after the departure of former CEO Geoff Horth.

Russell got onboard with a salary package of at least $1.1 million, with the opportunity to also take part in an incentive plan and share package to be approved at the next Vocus shareholder meeting.

His appointment came nearly eight months after Russell exited his role as group executive for Telstra Retail, which he had held for 18 months.

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Microsoft Australia names Nicole Robinson as new go-to-market lead, replacing Tony Wilkinson

June

Microsoft Australia appointed Nicole Robinson as the company’s One Commercial Partner go-to-market lead, to replace Tony Wilkinson in June.

Robinson, who previously led Microsoft’s business planning and sales operations team of 15, brings more than 17 years of industry experience to the position, with a particularly skillset across marketing business management and operations, according to Microsoft.

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SAP names Mark Hettler new Australian channel chief, promotes Sam Henderson to APJ role

June

Software giant SAP named Mark Hettler as its new channel chief for Australia and New Zealand, replacing Sam Henderson, who was promoted to an Asia-Pacific and Japan role early in the year.

Hettler has been with SAP for more than a decade, and stepped up from the role of SAP's head of cloud delivery to his the position of head of partners and channels for ANZ.

He is responsible for driving and growing revenue opportunities for the region’s partner ecosystem, as well as partner recruitment and activation.

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Amaysim co-founder Peter O'Connell returns as CEO Julian Ogrin departs for Foxtel

June

Amaysim co-founder Peter O'Connell has assumed the role of chief executive and managing director following the departure of Julian Ogrin, who has joined the merged Foxtel and Fox Sports.

As chief executive, Ogrin led Amaysim's expansion beyond its heritage as a mobile virtual network operator partnered with Optus and into a range of sectors, including home broadband, reselling devices online, and its $120 million acquisition in the energy sector.

O'Connell returned to day-to-day operations after stepping down as executive chairman in 2015, having served as non-executive director since then.

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Google Australia boss Jason Pellegrino exits after a decade

July

Google's managing director for Australia and New Zealand Jason Pellegrino left the search giant after close to a decade to take on the chief executive role at real estate listing website Domain.

Pellegrino was promoted to the managing director role in May 2016, and was appointed to Google's Asia-Pacific leadership team, where he was responsible for the company's sales and operations across ANZ.

He joined Google in 2008 as head of strategy and sales operations for Australia, before being promoted to sales director in 2011. He then moved to managing director, APAC sales operations strategy in 2014.

“I have spent close to a decade with Google and enjoyed every single day," said Pellegrino.
"I consider myself enormously lucky to have been part of this rapid shift in technology and our journey from desktop to smartphone and now the AI-powered world ahead. But what I will miss the most as I take on this new exciting role are all the fantastic colleagues, partners and customers I have had the privilege to work with over the years.”

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Commvault channel chief Kaaren Lewis leaves, Joins F5 Networks

July 

Commvault channel director Kaaren Lewis left the vendor in July after a year in that position.

CRN understands Lewis moved on as a result of the local channel director role being relocated to Singapore.

Following her exit, Lewis took over from Rodney Thorne as the new channel chief for F5 Networks in December.

Thorne has since taken up the role of director of Asia-Pacific channels for cybersec vendor Cybereason.

F5 Networks also welcomed Jade Meara to its ANZ leadership team in the position of head of marketing.

“We are proud to have Kaaren and Jade onboard to help drive growth in ANZ through their strong technology and leadership expertise,” ANZ managing director Jason Baden said.

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Kaspersky appoints Scott Warren as ANZ channel chief

July

Kaspersky Lab appointed Scott Warren as channel manager for Australia and New Zealand, replacing Samantha Gotting who left in May to join NBN Co.

Warren will be based out of the cybersecurity vendor’s new Sydney office once it opens in 2019. He reports directly to Kaspersky ANZ general manager Margrith Appleby.

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Telstra enterprise lead Andrew Wildblood exits after 19 years

July

The head of Telstra’s direct business unit Andrew Wildblood left the telco after 19 years with the company.

“After 19 years and a career spanning the UK, Asia and Australia, Andrew Wildblood has left Telstra,” said the spokesperson.

“John Ieraci will lead the Australian sales team while we look to appoint a new chief customer officer for enterprise in Australia.”

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BigAir co-founder Jason Ashton steps down as Superloop exec

July

Jason Ashton stepped down as chief executive of the company formerly known as BigAir, citing personal reasons.

Parent company Superloop confirmed Ashton’s exit from the executive position in an organisational update released to the ASX in July. Ashton continues as a director and consultant with the business, focused on NBN integration.

Drew Kelton was appointed as Superloop's chief executive.

“The opportunity for Superloop with the NBN transition is huge and I welcome Jason’s expertise, knowledge and experience in driving the best outcomes for our customers both now and in the future," he said.

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SAP names Damien Bueno as ANZ managing director

July

SAP named Damien Bueno its new ANZ president and managing director in July, with Colin Brookes taking on a global role with the software giant.

Bueno stepped up from his role as vice president of strategic industries and markets based out of the company’s Canberra office, where he worked closely with government clients.

He joined SAP’s Asia-Pacific and Japan senior executive team and reports directly to APJ president Scott Russell.

“Australia and New Zealand is a key market unit for the APJ region, having become a $1 billion business and delivering 22 per cent year over year cloud business growth,” Russell said.

“As an experienced member of the ANZ senior executive team, Damien Bueno is a proven leader who embodies what it means to be customer-centric and employee-focused. I look forward to Damien supporting our customers’ future successes, as our ANZ business enters its next phase of growth.”

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Leading Edge Group's Australian CEO swaps roles to focus on digital solutions

July

Leading Edge Group’s Australian chief executive Graham Dear changed up his role to chief executive of digital solutions, a role focused on helping the buying group build out new digital innovations.

Dear is shifting into the role completely, having held it in conjunction with being the group CEO for the past year and a half.

Reflecting on his time as group chief executive, which he held for five years after being promoted from group general manager, Dear highlighted his passion for working in the small-medium enterprise space.

“Having grown up in regional Australia, and then worked in large corporate businesses in Australia and overseas followed by owning my own business, I came into the role with an empathy and understanding of the importance of SME businesses in Australia, and some of the hardships and competition they face,” he said.

“It was and continued to be important to me to understand how we could add value to our customers (members) businesses, whilst also adding value to our vendor partners and remaining relevant to both.

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Telstra group managing director for networks Mike Wright departs after 38 years of service

July

Telstra announced that its group managing director of networks, Mike Wright, would step down at the end of September, after a 38-year haul with the telco.

In his final role with Telstra, Wright held accountability for fixed, wireless and media networks covering network planning, investment planning, design and construction.

Telstra chief operations officer Robyn Denholm thanked Wright for his considerable contribution to the company. 

“Mike is one of the most widely respected network engineering leaders in the world.  He has made a huge contribution over many years and he will leave an impressive legacy in Telstra’s world-class wireless and fixed networks, which keep millions of Australian consumers and businesses connected every day,” Denholm said.

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Fuji Xerox Australia country manager Tony Grima joins OKI Data Australia

July

Fuji Xerox’s Australian country general manager Tony Grima left to join rival print vendor OKI Data Australia in July, where he was been appointed as sales director for Australia.

In the new role, Grima leads OKI’s sales motion, including channel partner development, the vendor’s distribution strategy and revenue growth.

During his time at Fuji Xerox, Grima led the rollout of a new partner program and updated the company’s sales pipeline.

He joined the print vendor in January 2017 from paintbrush manufacturer Oldfields, where he had served as chief executive since 2013.

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Telstra's channel chief Charlotte Schraa exits after eight years

July

Telstra channel chief Charlotte Schraa left the telco after nearly eight years with the company and two years leading the channel business.

The executive has jumped to Vocus, where she took up the role of head of products and marketing.

Schraa joined a growing list of executives jumping ship between the telecommunications rivals.
Schraa joined Telstra in 2010 as general manager for marketing and communications.

She was appointed head of specialist partner channel in September 2016 after the role was vacated by former channel chief Keith Masterton, who left the telco two months prior.

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HP names Mike Boyle as new Australian and New Zealand boss

August

HP appointed Mike Boyle as its new Australian and New Zealand boss, under the title of South Pacific managing director

Boylehas took over from interim South Pacific managing director Paul Gracey in November. Gracey had stood in as the regional leader since it was vacated by Rob Mesaros in May, but will resume leading HP's South Pacific printing systems business once Boyle commences.

The South Pacific managing director is responsible for the overall business operations of Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding islands, covering the company’s portfolio of PCs, mobility, technical workstations, printing, graphics solutions, 3D and managed services.

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FireEye appoints Chris Barton to lead ANZ channel

August

FireEye's Chris Barton was selected to lead the security vendor's channel business in Australia and New Zealand.

Barton established FireEye's local channel when he joined the company in 2013 as channel manager for Australia and New Zealand.

He has since held a number of strategic alliance roles in FireEye's global service provider business, and was most recently senior manager of strategic alliances for APJ.

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Avanade Australia boss Sarah Adam-Gedge departs, appoints Mac Ghani from Canada

August

Multinational Microsoft partner Avanade appointed Mahmood “Mac” Ghani to lead its Australian business following the departure of managing director Sarah Adam-Gedge.

Ghani joined from the company’s Central Canada operations, where he served as general manager. He will take on the role of executive general manager in September.

“Mac brings with him a keen adaptability to industry changes and forces, and an acute sense of knowing what local organisations need in order to drive their digital transformation agenda forward,” Avanade growth markets area president Anna Di Silverio said.

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NBN Co reveals Stephen Rue as next chief executive

August

NBN Co selected chief financial officer Stephen Rue to take over from Bill Morrow as chief executive of the network infrastructure provider.

Rue had been responsible for all financial aspects of NBN Co since joining the company as CFO in July 2014.

Prior to joining NBN Co, Rue was CFO of News Corp Australia from 2003 to 2013, and has also served as a director for REA Group, Foxtel and the Australian Associated Press.

Departing boss Bill Morrow said Rue was right for the job.

“I am very pleased that one of my senior executives has been selected and will follow me in this exciting role," Morrow said. 

"Stephen has been an outstanding team member and is a very popular choice for this challenging role. I warmly congratulate Stephen and wish him well.”

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Rackspace Australia boss exits, new GM and channel chief hired 

July-August

Rackspace Australia's general manager Angus Dorney moved on from the managed cloud provider in July after five years to join cloud engineering specialist Kablamo as co-chief executive.

In August, Rackspace made two new appointments to lead its Australian and New Zealand business.

Darryn McCoskery was promoted to general manager for Rackspace ANZ. McCoskery joined Rackspace in January 2015 as sales director after two years at CSC as regional vice president, Asia-Pacific.

Angela Logan-Bell was hired to lead the managed cloud provider's channel as partner and alliances manager.

She joined Rackspace in June after two years as a cloud specialist for Optus. Prior to that, she was also Dicker Data's state manager for Cisco and key accounts in Victoria and Tasmania.

Dorney joined Rackspace in 2013 as director of operations for Australia and New Zealand before being promoted to senior director and general manager for ANZ just three months later when then-general manager Mark Randall left to join Bulletproof.

Pictured: Darren McCoskery

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Geoff Wright exits as Dell EMC's Aussie channel chief

August

Dell EMC Australia announced that its general manager for channel Geoff Wright “decided to leave the company and pursue other opportunities”.

Wright was replaced by Shant Soghomonian, a ten-year Dell veteran who previously served as director of channel strategy for across the Asia Pacific and Japan.

Wright came from the Dell side of Dell EMC and his tenure included the acquisition of EMC and melding of the companies’ channels into a new combined offering launched in early 2017.

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Harbour IT boss Michael Giusti exits, joins Harbour ISP

September

Harbour IT chief executive Michael Giusti exited the top spot in September after more than two years in the top role. 

After taking some time off, he then took on the CEO position of Harbour ISP following Adam Simpson’s departure, also in September.

Harbour ISP was spun out of Harbour IT after Canon Oceania bought a majority stake in the latter in 2014, integrating with its Canon Business Services unit. Canon has since increased its stake to full ownership of Harbour IT last year.

Giusti took over the reins of Harbour IT in July 2016, two years after Canon’s purchase. He had been with Harbour IT for more than 17 years before he left, and was general manager before taking on the CEO role.

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Fuji Xerox Australia boss Sunil Gupta depart, Takayuki Togo named as replacement

September

Fuji Xerox Australia revealed its managing director Sunil Gupta would step down to return to the United States.

Fuji Xerox veteran Takayuki Togo, previously the company’s Asia Pacific senior general manager for marketing, was named Gupta's replacement effective 1 October.

“[Sunil Gupta] has been pivotal in Fuji Xerox Australia’s business transformation over the past two years,” Fuji Xerox Australia said in a statement.

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RSA appoints Andreas Allesch to oversee channel and alliances in Australia and New Zealand

September

Network security vendor RSA appointed Andreas Allesch as channel and alliances manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Allesch stepped up from the title of channel sales manager, a role he had held since the beginning of 2016.

Allesch first joined RSA in 2013 and has worked across sales, channel and enterprise account management for the company.

In the role, Allesch will build out RSA’s alliance partner program in the region, and said he would develop “a customer-centric focus on more strategic initiatives with key partners”.

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Google Australia appoints Melanie Silva as its new managing director

September

Google selected 11-year veteran Melanie Silva as its new managing director for Australia and New Zealand, starting 1 October.

Silva joined Google back in 2007 as head of financial services, and has worked in various senior roles with the search giant since then.

Prior to Google, Silva was general manager for Fairfax Digital's Direct Access investment platform. She has also worked for companies like Citibank, ING Direct and AMP.

Silva replaces former MD Jason Pellegrino, who left in July after nearly a decade with the company and more than two years in the top role to join Fairfax's real estate listing website Domain as chief executive.

Silva said she was thrilled to be returning home to join Google's local team.

"There is a tremendous digital opportunity for the region, with businesses and consumers increasingly making use of tools such as AI and machine learning."

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Huawei scoops Geoff Wright, former Dell EMC channel chief

October

Huawei appointed former Dell EMC channel chief Geoff Wright to lead its channel.

The seasoned channel executive's new title at Huawei is vice president channel and commercial, Huawei Technologies. 

Huawei represents a challenging opportunity from a channel perspective. The company has famously been effectively banned from selling 5G kit to Australian telcos. 

But Huawei’s enterprise hardware and software business is still very new in Australia. CRN understands it accounts for under one percent of local revenue but that Huawei thinks it can grow as quickly as its consumer business.

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Oracle names NZ boss Robert Gosling as new trans-Tasman channel chief

October

Oracle appointed Robert Gosling as its new channel chief for Australia and New Zealand, replacing Steve McLoughlin.

Gosling took on the role after two non-consecutive stints as the vendor’s managing director for its New Zealand business.

“We are pleased to confirm the appointment of Robert Gosling as head of ANZ alliances and channels,” an Oracle spokesperson told CRN.

“He will be responsible for driving our cloud partner ecosystem across the two countries.”

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Joe McPhillips joins Cylance as vendor's first Asia-Pacific channel chief

October

Cylance appointed Joe McPhillips as its first channel chief for the APAC region, naming him director of Asia-Pacific channels.

McPhillips joined Cylance from Symantec, where he held the position of Pacific channels director. Phillips had joined Symantec when it acquired BlueCoat in 2016.

The channel chief takes a key role as the AI-powered cybersecurity vendor embarks on its next phase of growth, driving partner sales across the region, including the developing markets of South East Asia and Korea. He will be based in Sydney.

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Ex-Huawei channel chief Paul Richardson joins HPE

October

Former Huawei Australia channel chief Paul Richardson joined HPE in the role of national partner and service provider sales manager.

The sales leader, who has many years of channel experience under his belt, was confirmed in the new role by HPE. Richardson will report to HPE general manager of channels and alliances Marina Fronek.

"We are delighted to have Paul on board as Paul has shown a high level of commitment to the partner community in numerous roles and focuses on leading with the channel," Fronek said.

"This was a very considered appointment as we ensure that all of our HPE teams truly align to our core value of partnership first and the power of collaboration. Paul’s appointment brings further strength to HPE’s strong pedigree in working with partners and HPE’s commitment to enabling partners to grow their businesses."

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Citrix promotes company veteran Erin Butler to lead ANZ

October

Citrix appointed company veteran Erin Butler to lead the local business as area vice president of Australia and New Zealand.

Based in the US, Butler was Citrix' chief of staff for worldwide sales and services since the start of 2018, and has held numerous roles in channel management, sales engineering, inside sales management and enterprise sales since joining the vendor in 2006.

In her most recent role, Butler was responsible for working with Citrix' sales leadership team and developing the vendor's go-to-market strategy, a responsibility that will carry over to the ANZ role.

Butler relocates to Australia for the role, where she will report to Citrix senior vice president of sales and services for Asia-Pacific and Japan Colin Brookes.

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Former Symantec channel chief Klasie Holtzhausen returns

November

Klasie Holtzhausen has returned to the security vendor after a three-year absence.

Holtzhausen originally joined Symantec in 2013 where he was senior director of channels and commercial for the Pacific region. Two years later he was promoted to the role of Asia-Pacific channel lead for Veritas, a subsidiary of Symantec.

In 2015, he left to join Dell as managing director of its software business in Australia and New Zealand and continued leading the business when it was spun out from Dell as Quest Software.

After that, he joined CA Technologies as senior sales director for a brief time in 2017 before returning to Symantec.

Holtzhausen will take over from former Australian channel chief Joe McPhillips, who left in favour of a position at Cylance as its first channel chief for Asia-Pacific.

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Lenovo DCG channel chief Nathan Knight promoted to GM for ANZ

December

Lenovo Data Centre Group appointed channel chief Nathan Knight to the role of ANZ general manager, the company’s lead role in the region.

Knight replaces Rob Makin, who will join Lenovo’s worldwide device-as-a-service team as executive director and general manager. 

“Nathan has played a key strategic role in the rapid growth of the channel program for Lenovo DCG,” Lenovo DCG Asia-Pacific president Sumir Bhatia said.

“His relentless energy, love of collaboration, and rigor in execution have led to a host of successes, and positioned him perfectly to drive the ANZ DCG business forward. We look forward to welcoming in the new year with Nathan at the helm.”

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Regional resellers farewell Leading Edge general manager Lee Scott

December

Leading Edge group general manager Lee Scott has left the company after 14 years to take a break and focus on family.

The long-serving executive made the decision to depart the business as it transitions to a new operating model in response to the next phase of market challenges.

The executive has served the buying group across multiple roles during his tenure, but would be best known to the Australian channel for his work as the general manager of Leading Edge Computers, working in a small team and looking after some 135 member businesses.

“Lee has been a steadfast part of Leading Edge for 14 years and his contribution to our success cannot be understated,” Leading Edge Group global chief executive Struan Abernethy said.

“We have seen our members transform and adapt to the changing technology market and they are now stronger, better businesses under Lee’s leadership, guidance and support.

“We wish Lee all the very best in the next stage of his journey.”

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NGage Technology co-founder Jarrod Bloomfield exits as Cirrus Networks executive

December

Cirrus Networks enterprise sales executive Jarrod Bloomfield has stepped down from the company, 18 months after it acquired the business he co-founded seven years ago.

The entrepreneur told CRN he had finished his last day at the Perth-headquartered company.

Bloomfield, together with co-founder Brent Valle, founded Melbourne's NGage Technology Group in 2011 and enjoyed strong growth early on.

The company took out the number one spot in the 2013 CRN Fast50 after growing 265 percent that financial year. NGage then placed second in the 2014 Fast50, and ninth and 10th in the 2015 and 2016 countdowns respectively.

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