Dropbox hires first Australian channel chief

Dropbox has hired Greg Kieser, formerly of Infor and Amazon Web Services, as its first-ever Australian channel chief.

Kieser started earlier this month as Dropbox’s ANZ head of partner sales, with the company expected to formally confirm the appointment later this week.

In his previous role, Kieser was channel and alliances manager at Infor, which he joined in March 2015. Before that, he spent four years at Amazon Web Services, where he served as head of ANZ partners and alliances.

Dropbox is a relatively new arrival in Australia, having opened its first local office in 2014 and appointed its first ANZ head, Charlie Wood, in September that year.

Initially, the company managed its channel relationships through a San Francisco-based executive, Adam Nelson, who served as head of channel partnerships.

Nelson told CRN in May 2014 that local resellers could expect margins of "anywhere between 15-25 percent” from selling Dropbox.

Dropbox introduced its first channel program in the US in June 2013.

Sydney-based reseller XCentral, which has worked with Dropbox since 2012, said Kieser’s appointment was a sign that Dropbox would become a more attentive partner.

Managing director Philip Patelis told CRN that Dropbox had been great to work with until several months ago, when the company shifted from dedicated account management to centralised account management.

“In a time when you’re forced to buy everything online, you need someone to speak to about account management issues. So I think them taking that away has been a mistake, and I’ve told that to them,” said Patelis, whose Sydney-based company is an award-winning Microsoft partner.

“If they’re going to have Greg in Australia, I think that’s key, but my advice is that they need to bring back personal relationships, especially when there’s such a competitive marketplace.”

Patelis said another positive result of Dropbox’s restructure is that the company is now willing to transact in Australian dollars, rather than US dollars.

“With the dollar crashing, that has been an horrific experience. The fact they now have an Australian channel and have fixed pricing in Australian dollars and a dedicated person, that’s a good move on their behalf,” he said.