Kelly Johnson joins Pax8 as ANZ sales head

Kelly Johnson has left the role of ANZ GM role at Acronis to become ANZ regional sales manager at Pax8.

Johnson was ANZ GM for over a year at Acronis. Prior to this, she served as the sales director of Arrow Electronics' computing solutions business for the Australia and New Zealand region.

She said the opportunity to continue to help MSPs who cater to the SMB market - something she "really enjoyed" in her time at Acronis - was a key reason she made the move.

"I saw with Pax8 that this is their whole remit and I thought I can lean in deeper to the MSP community through Pax8 because they offer a lot more than just one vendor, being a marketplace," she said.

Johnson will lead a sales team across New South Wales, ACT, South Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand.

David Knapp, who joined the business back in July 2024, will look after sales in Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria, and will help look after Tasmanian sales.

Johnson spoke positively about Acronis. "MSPs can either leverage the backup, the security or both, but it's under one platform and over 200 technology partners now integrate with their product," she said.

 "My time at Acronis was really good and we just were growing and growing, so they've hired a couple new people already and the business continues to grow and be successful.

"They're super geared up for success in the future, but the other thing is that I still get to sell Acronis at Pax8, so I didn't say goodbye - I said ‘I'll see you guys next week’."

Johnson said that in a time when SMBs in Australia are struggling, the MSP space is growing as business owners realise they need experts to help manage their IT and cybersecurity needs.

"In the MSP space, they're also understaffed and under-resourced though, so they need tools that will help them manage and continue to grow," she said.

"This is really where Pax8 plays nicely from their marketplace perspective."

“Kelly brings more than 20 years of experience in the channel to Pax8. Her focus on helping channel partners succeed is second to none, and we’re excited to have her as part of the Pax8 team.” said Chris Sharp, Pax8 APAC CEO.