IBM Australia hires former TikTok, Google exec Elisa Kelsall to run channel, alliances

IBM Australia has appointed Elisa Kelsall as its new general manager for ecosystem and alliances.

In the newly created role, Kelsall is tasked with leading the vendor’s local partner ecosystem, and she will report to IBM Australia managing director Nicholas Flood.

An IBM Australia spokesperson told CRN that Kelsall's appointment would help "bring an outside-in perspective to ensure [IBM] best meets the needs" of its partners through her "deep" experience and background.

“We are delighted to have welcomed Elisa to IBM Technology’s leadership team in Australia, where she will lead the local IBM Ecosystem,” Flood said.

“IBM’s ecosystem is integral to our transformation story and Elisa’s experience will be invaluable in leading the transformation of our Australian ecosystem, making it easier for partners to do business with IBM and succeed.”

Kelsall was hired from social media company TikTok, where she was ANZ head of partnerships from July 2020 to October 2022.

Prior to that, Kelsall worked at Google Australia from 2011 to 2020, holding a number of sales and leadership roles, with head of new business acquisitions for ANZ as her most recent position. She also worked at Toshiba Information Systems in the United Kingdom from 2005 to 2010.

Commenting on her new role, Kelsall said, “In my first month with IBM, I have enjoyed meeting with several local partners and am taking onboard their feedback to inform how we look to deepen our relationships with existing partners and grow new partnerships into 2023.”

“It's an exciting time in the IBM ecosystem for our partners and I am delighted to have joined IBM Australia with the mission of bringing the best of our technology solutions to partners for the end goal of growing our businesses together.”

In September, former IBM ANZ boss Katrina Troughton was named Adobe's new vice president and managing director, replacing Suzanne Steele. Troughton left IBM earlier this year as part of a regional restructure, where the vendor merged its ANZ, Southeast Asia and Korea units into a new new geo sector called ASEANZK under the wider Asia-Pacific region.