Microsoft Australia's Rachel Bondi moves to Asia, NZ boss Vanessa Sorenson named ANZ channel chief

Microsoft has named Vanessa Sorenson as its new channel chief for Australia and New Zealand as Rachel Bondi moves to a new role in the vendor’s Asia business.

Sorenson will take the new role of Global Partner Solutions director for Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, while also continuing as New Zealand country leader. Bondi will be Microsoft Asia vice president for small, medium and corporate businesses.

Both posted their moves on LinkedIn, announcing their new roles and what they have planned moving forward.

“I want to thank my predecessor Rachel Bondi and her incredible team for setting us all up for success. Over the past 5 years at Microsoft, I’ve enjoyed supporting New Zealand customers and partners and watching the ecosystem grow,” Sorenson said.

In her own post, Bondi said, “I would like to close this chapter as the Australia leader for the Global Partner Solutions Group as I have deep gratitude for your partnership over the past 3 years. I extend my warmest wishes to Vanessa Sorenson who will lead our partner business in Australia and New Zealand.”

“As a next step in my career, I’m looking forward to leading Microsoft Asia for Small, Medium and Corporate business across China, Japan, India, Korea, Asia-Pacific, and of course Australia and New Zealand. I cannot wait to learn, be curious and share the experience with you all over the coming weeks and months.”

Bondi was named Microsoft Australia chief partner officer in 2019 after a three-year stint as chief operating officer from 2016 to 2019. Prior to that, she worked in various leadership roles at Microsoft US from 1999 to 2015. Bondi first joined Microsoft in 1997 as partner account manager in the Australia office.

Sorenson meanwhile joined Microsoft in 2017 as enterprise director for its New Zealand business, and was later named NZ managing director in 2020. Before Microsoft, she worked at NZ telco Spark from 1998 to 2017, with her most recent role as general manager. Sorenson also worked at IT services company Wang New Zealand (now Gen-i) from 1994 to 1998.

In a separate post, Bondi said, “In the past three years, I’ve been fortunate to work with partners in Australia and New Zealand and experience first-hand the support they’re extending to ANZ businesses on the latest technological trends.”

“This new leadership position is a tremendous opportunity. Our small and medium business customers and partners fuel the economy of Asia. Not only do they employ tens of millions of citizens but they deliver technology innovation that empowers their customers and employees to achieve more.

"I am inspired by the impact we can have on ‘000s of customers and when I reflect on it, this has been a feature in my career at Microsoft - it gives me great passion and energy. I couldn't be more excited to be leading this great team.”