The biggest channel job moves in 2021, so far

The first half of 2021 has certainly been a busy one for the channel and amongst it all, we’ve seen a fair few executive role changes locally, as well as a few big global shifts.

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

Talend appoints new ANZ boss

6 January

Data management software vendor Talend appointed former Blue Prism channel exec Mark Fazackerley as its new ANZ boss.

Fazackerley revealed the appointment on LinkedIn yesterday, taking the role of regional vice president for Australia and New Zealand.

“I’m delighted to tell you that I have accepted a role as RVP Australia and NZ at Talend, an exciting company with a fantastic market-leading product on a big growth curve,” Fazackerley’s LinkedIn post read.

“Given my years in analytics, the challenges Talend solutions address are dear to my heart. Look forward to getting my feet under the desk next week"

Read the full story here.

TPG Telecom names new consumer boss

13 January

Although he officially took the job in March, it was announced in January that TPG Telecom appointed telco marketing veteran Kieren Cooney as its head of consumer.

Cooney returned to the telco sector after six years to take on the role of Group Executive Consumer reporting to CEO Iñaki Berroeta as he officially takes the job in March.

At the time, Berroeta said that Cooney was “one of Australia’s leading marketing executives, and I am delighted to welcome him to the company,” and a “transformational change leader.”

It was described as a key appointment after the TPG-Vodafone merger.

Read the full story here.

Intel CEO Bob Swan to be replaced by VMware’s Pat Gelsinger

14 January

Intel CEO Bob Swan stepped down and was replaced by VMware leader Pat Gelsinger, ending a two-year tenure that was marked by strategy shifts and manufacturing issues.

Intel said Swan stepped down on 15 February and handed over the role to Gelsinger, VMware’s CEO of nearly nine years and a 30-year Intel veteran, who became the semiconductor giant’s eighth CEO in its 52-year history. Gelsinger also joined Intel’s board of directors.

The CEO shakeup comes after hedge fund Third Point gained a “significant stake” in the company and demanded the chipmaker explore strategic options, including selling off “failed acquisitions” and potentially its manufacturing operations, to regain technology leadership and recover from manufacturing struggles that have resulted in product delays.

Read the full story here.

Capgemini ANZ boss Olaf Pietschner expands role to include APAC

14 January

Global systems integrator Capgemini’s Olaf Pietschner was promoted from Australia and New Zealand managing director to the role of chief executive of the Asia Pacific Strategic Business Unit. 

He held the ANZ managing director role from 2017 to December 2020 and in his new position, the ANZ region remained within his remit,
The new business unit Pietschner took over was one of three that the company spun up, each with a new CEO. 

Pietschner’s replacement is named later in this list.

Read the full story here.

Intuit Technologies hires channel veteran Bianca Pickett as CTO

21 January

Hobart-based managed services provider Intuit Technologies appointed channel veteran Bianca Pickett to the newly created role of chief technology officer.

The role was created as part of the company’s next phase of growth, with Pickett responsible for all services and engineering capability within the company.

Pickett joined on 11 January 2021 and is based in Melbourne.

Read the full story here.

Insentra exec Robbie Upcroft to rejoin Microsoft Australia

28 January

Australian channel veteran Robbie Upcroft revealed he left IT services firm Insentra to return to Microsoft Australia.

Upcroft, who finished up as national partnership manager at the end of January, will be replaced by Zeena Skelly, who was hired out of Nextgen. Upcroft started at Microsoft on 1 February 2021 as partner development manager.

Upcroft revealed the move on LinkedIn, thanking his former employer for the past four years.

Read the full story here.

Hills CEO David Lenz to depart

2 February

Distributor Hills Ltd announced that chief executive and managing director David Lenz will retire later this year.

Lenz will depart after five years as CEO, but will remain with Hills Ltd on 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.

The handover happened just this month.
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 has transitioned to the role of executive chair at Amazon.

Read the full story here.

Howard Fyffe exits Veritas to lead Vast Data in ANZ

8 February

Departing Veritas ANZ managing director Howard Fyffe joined all-flash universal storage solutions vendor Vast Data, to lead the company’s operations in Australia and New Zealand.

Fyffe said Vast Data had existing customers and revenues in the ANZ region, and that his appointment would be an opportunity to build on that. He remains based in Sydney.

The executive said Vast Data appeared on his radar in 2020 while pursuing new opportunities. He was introduced to the company through a former colleague and an opportunity subsequently arose to help grow the business in ANZ.

Read the full story here.

Former AWS exec named as CEO of cloud services startup

9 February

Former AWS APAC professional services director Paul O’Rourke joined Australian cloud services start-up, Digital Renewal (DigiRen), as CEO.

Over his seven years at AWS, O’Rourke moved from leading professional services across Australia and New Zealand to the whole APAC region. Prior to AWS, he worked for Accenture in their technology consulting business.

In total, O’Rourke has over 25 years experience leading cloud transformation and consulting practices.

DigiRen was founded in 2019, targeting the market for cloud operating models from commercial enterprise and public sector organisations.

Read the full story here.

VMware ANZ channel chief Neels du Plooy departs

9 February

VMware’s long-serving channel chief Neels du Plooy left the vendor after close to nine years, four and a half of those as head of the local channel.

VMware confirmed the exec’s departure in a statement.

“Neels du Plooy, Director of Channels for Australia and New Zealand, has left VMware,” the company said.

“VMware wishes Neels the best in his future endeavours and thanks him for his commitment to our partners during his time with the business.
du Plooy’s new role pops up later in this list.

Read the full story here.

Ingram Micro hires Cisco's Rod Lazarus to lead new cybersecurity practice

16 February

Ingram Micro appointed Rod Lazarus as its new general manager for cybersecurity, tasked to lead its dedicated cybersecurity practice.

The distributor announced last year that it plans to build a dedicated cybersecurity team to help channel partners move beyond volume sales of standard security products, like firewall and endpoint protection, and pivot into delivering custom solutions to meet specific needs of end users.

Ingram Micro head of advanced solutions Brett Armstrong said Lazarus is responsible for “all things security” and will build a team to support resellers.

Armstrong added that Lazarus’ hiring and the plans to form a security team came following sustained demand for cybersecurity solutions, particularly as businesses across Australia rapidly pivot to the cloud.

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.

Capgemini appoints former Deloitte exec as new MD

2 March

Kaylene O’Brien was appointed as Capgemini’s new managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

O’Brien moved to her new role from Deloitte, where she was the managing partner of Deloitte Consulting Australia and part of its global and Asia Pacific consulting executive team.

She succeeded Olaf Pietschner who, earlier this year, was named chief executive of Capgemini’s Asia Pacific strategic business unit and member of the group executive committee.

Read the full story here.

Runecast taps Andre Carpenter to lead new local channel push

16 March

Runecast appointed Andre Carpenter to lead its channel sales in Asia-Pacific.

Carpenter joined the company from AvePoint where he was also the channel chief. Prior to this he spent over two years at Oracle as principal technologist. He was also previously alliances manager for the region at Veeam.

While Runecast is originally a Czech company based in London, one of its founders, VP of sales Ched Smokovic is based in Sydney. While he is in a global role, Carpenter said this will provide him and the rest of the local team with additional support. 

Read the full story here.

Procore hires Autodesk's Clare Wharrier to run global channel

18 March

US-headquartered construction management software vendor Procore Technologies announced it would run its global channel program out of Australia.

The partner program was to be run by newly appointed senior director of global channel Clare Wharrier, who is based in Sydney.

Wharrier, who joined Procore following a 16-plus year career at software giant Autodesk, was tasked to build and scale Procore’s first global channel program, as the company continued expanding into Asia Pacific.

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

Read the full story here.

Microsoft global channel chief Gavriella Schuster departs

31 March

In a shakeup of its partner ecosystem leadership, Microsoft named Rodney Clark as its new channel chief, replacing Gavriella Schuster who exited the role after five years.

A 23-year Microsoft veteran, Clark has been leading Microsoft’s IoT and mixed reality sales for nearly four years, most recently as corporate vice president, with responsibilities for building intelligent systems from edge to cloud and mixed reality capabilities, and driving sales and go-to-market execution with partners and customers. He also served as general manager of IoT for another four years.

Clark worked directly with partners for more than 15 of his years at Microsoft and directly with Schuster, he said.

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 has 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.

InfoTrust hires channel exec Keith Buckley as CEO

8 April

Australian security services firm InfoTrust appointed long-time tech executive Keith Buckley as its new chief executive officer.

Buckley was tasked with managing the company’s day-to-day operations and leading its growth strategy, while InfoTrust co-founders Dane Meah and Simon McKay stepped into board positions.
The appointment occured following strong growth in InfoTrust’s core business, including the development of a new SaaS security platform, MyCISO.

MyCISO will be spun off as a new startup with Dane Meah at the helm, while Simon McKay will continue working for both companies in an “executive leadership” capacity.

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.

Former VMware channel exec Kerrie-Anne Turner joins Telstra

9 April

Former local VMware channel executive Kerrie-Anne Turner resurfaced at Telstra shortly after departing the virtualisation vendor earlier this year.

Turner was named executive head for Telstra Enterprise for marketing and commercial.
She left VMware in February after five years at the company, last working as head of New Zealand, commercial business and channels ANZ.

Turner will lead Telstra Enterprise’s marketing and commercial steering group, developing and driving the company’s overall commercial strategy.

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.

Rackspace local channel chief Angela Logan-Bell moves up to APJ

14 April

Managed cloud company Rackspace Technology named Angela Logan-Bell as its director of strategic alliance partnerships for Asia-Pacific and Japan.

Logan-Bell was promoted from the ANZ channel team, to take responsibility for relationships with Rackspace's strategic and alliance partners, as well as customers across the APJ region.

Speaking on her appointment, Logan-Bell said, “I look forward to the opportunity to work directly and in close collaboration with some of the largest cloud and technology providers in the APJ region. Having a diverse and strong partner ecosystem is what drives great value and outcomes for our joint customers”

Read the full story here.

LogMeIn renews focus on ANZ MSPs with new role

16 April

LogMeIn appointed former SolarWinds N-Able APAC channel manager Anthony Rosa into the newly created role of MSP channel manager for the ANZ region.

Based in Sydney, Rosa worked for the SolarWinds MSP subsidiary in APAC for seven years, moving from account manager to sales manager and then to running the company’s channel business.

Rosa told CRN he joined Logmein because he believes in the “company’s ‘mission’ of making it possible for millions of people and businesses around the globe to do their best work from anywhere.”

According to a statement from Logmein, the hire was evidence of LogMeIn investing in enabling MSPs to help their customers and doing so with a broader/global footprint. 

Read the full story here.

Adam Powick named Deloitte Aus CEO

21 April

Adam Powick was named the next chief executive officer of Deloitte Australia.

Powick was previously the leader of Deloitte’s Asia Pacific Consulting practice, a role stepped into by Rob Hillard from his position as Australia consulting leader.

According to a release, Powick received “overwhelming support” from Australian partners as part of a formal voting process, which was preceded by a partner engagement process and consultation with Deloitte Asia Pacific and Global leadership. 

“I am delighted and humbled to have the opportunity to lead such a talented and diverse team of partners and professionals,” Powick said.

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.

agleton 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.

Logicalis Australia appoints new head of services

28 April

Logicalis Australia promoted general manager Damian Zammit to director of its services business.

His responsibilities include leading the company's consulting and advisory, transformation services, and managed services operations in Australia.

Zammit said he was “excited to lead Logicalis' life-cycle services with a core mission to drive top-line growth across our extensive services portfolio, adoption and rollout of global go-to-market solutions and accelerate our local innovations.”

The appointment followed a 10-year career at Logicalis Australia, where Zammit held several senior roles, most recently GM for transformation services. 

Read the full story here.

BlackBerry ANZ boss Jason Duerden jumps to SentinelOne

3 May

Cybersecurity platform vendor SentinelOne hired former BlackBerry ANZ boss Jason Duerden as its regional director for Australia and New Zealand.

Duerden announced the move on LinkedIn, revealing he had left BlackBerry in December 2020 and took a four-month break before taking on the new role.

“I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have joined SentinelOne!” Duerden’s LinkedIn post read.

“After finishing my last gig in December and taking a fantastic 4 month break, it is clear to me that the A/NZ market is buzzing again. During my assessment phase, it was amazing to see the amount of super cool and innovative startups launching into the A/NZ market.”

The hiring followed SentinelOne’s hiring of former BlackBerry exec Joe McPhillips as APAC channel chief in April.

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.

Vocus enterprise, Govt GM Julia Walsh jumps to Uniti Group

12 May

Vocus general manager for enterprise and state government sales Julia Walsh departed the company and joined Uniti Group.

Vocus confirmed Walsh’s departure, with Victoria & Tasmania state sales manager David Moyle tapped to lead the Enterprise & State Government team on an interim basis.

Walsh moved to telco and network provider Uniti Group as chief customer officer.

“Julia has been an exceptional leader in her four years at Vocus, and has helped to build and shape a successful national Enterprise & State Government sales team,” Vocus chief executive for enterprise and government Andrew Wildblood said.

Read the full story here.

Snowflake appoints new ANZ partner manager

13 May

Data management solution vendor Snowflake appointed former Rubrik ANZ channel manager Nick Laidler in the newly minted role of Australia and New Zealand partner manager.

Based in Melbourne, Laidler is tasked with overseeing training, technical support, and sales enablement to boost partner success with Snowflake products.

“I am excited to join a fast growing company and to take on this new role to help further Snowflake's success across the region, working closely with our partners to support their customers eliminate data silos, boost governance, and collaboration while delivering a single data experience that spans multiple clouds and geographies,” Laidler said.

Read the full story here.

Vertiv bolsters local channel team with Bhargav Kumar Bhatt

14 May

Critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions vendor Vertiv appointed Bhargav Kumar Bhatt as its national mechanical and electrical (M&E) channel manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Bhatt was promoted from M&E partner manager for ANZ, where he worked with both customers and channel partners. 

Vertiv saw a slew of new hires across the region at the start of the year appointing Anand Sanghi as its new Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia and India (ASI) president, and with Stephen Liang moving into CIO.

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.

Vectra AI names new ANZ country manager

20 May

Network threat detection and response vendor Vectra AI appointed former Arista ANZ country manager Tony Bauman as its new ANZ country manager.

His remit in the role is to strengthen the company’s success across the region as the cybersecurity market grows. 

“Tony’s extensive experience in enterprise, government and service provider market segments and his ability to scale sales teams and build effective partnerships with the channel community will further strengthen the growing presence of Vectra in Australia and New Zealand,” said Vectra chief revenue officer Marc Gemassmer.

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.

Calabrio names first local channel chief

21 May

Contact centre specialist Calabrio appointed Mark Harvey as its first APAC channel chief.

Harvey joined the company from LogMeIn where he was UCC channel chief in APAC.

He told CRN that his main focus will be on "building out our regional partner strategy through our existing base of platform partners along with our ecosystem of SI’s and consulting partners."

Harvey said his initial plans were to bed down the partner strategy in the region and he would then look to "build out a self sustaining channel business and committed channel team that are focused on both ANZ and new growth markets across Asia."

The appointment followed the acquisition of the company by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in March.

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.

Dell Boomi ANZ boss Nicholas Lambrou jumps to telco Thinxtra

2 June

Dell Boomi ANZ managing director Nicholas Lambrou departed the company to join Australian telco Thinxtra as its new chief executive.

Lambrou joined Boomi in 2017 after close to 16 years at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, last working as national sales manager for channel and strategic accounts.

Posting on LinkedIn, Lambrou said, “Today I complete a chapter on an unbelievable 3 year 9 month journey at Dell Boomi, the global leaders in IPaaS. I have had the honour and the pleasure to have led an amazing team across the ANZ region, helping organisations transform their businesses by connecting their digital ecosystem.”

Read the full story here.

Regional Bendigo Telco names new managing director

3 June

Regional B2B telecommunications provider Bendigo Telco appointed Kevin Dole as its first managing director.

Dole joins the company from Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, where he was the head of technology solutions and services, and after acting in the role since December 2020.

His new role replaces the former CEO role following a broader review of operations across the company, adopting a new corporate structure.

Speaking on his new role, Dole said his blend of leadership and technical skills means he is well placed to lead Bendigo Telco as it prepares to expand and capitalise on the opportunities available through its unique 100 gigabit fibre technology, and launch a suite of new products nationwide.

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.

Globalization Partners taps channel veteran Craig Goldblatt to lead APAC channel

17 June

Staff hiring platform Globalization Partners named channel veteran Craig Goldblatt as its channel chief for Asia-Pacific.

Goldblatt assumed the newly created role of vice president of partners and alliances for Asia-Pacific, responsible for key partnerships and growing revenue from strategic alliances with channel partners.

On the appointment, Goldblatt said, “The opportunity that Globalization Partners has in the APAC region is enormous and I’m looking forward to working with the team to execute our partnership strategy as we continue to grow our presence here.”

Read the full story here.

Optus MVNO Circles.Life taps former Amaysim exec Maik Retzlaff as Australian boss

30 June

Optus reseller and mobile network virtual operator Circles.Life appointed Maik Retzlaff as its new head of country for Australia.

Retzlaff returned to the telco industry two years after departing Amaysim in 2019. In his new role, Retzlaff is tasked to drive innovation at Circles.Life and bring competition to the sector.

”I’m incredibly excited to join Circles.Life at this point in the business’ journey, building on the success to date, and putting the customer front and centre,” Retzlaff said.

A new head of marketing joined Retzlaff, Emilie Chell who was hired from insurance tech startup Integrity Life.

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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.

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