Microsoft partner Rapid Circle said it has appointed George Stavrakakis as managing director for Australia and New Zealand, while co-founder Daniel McPherson returns to the region as chief technology officer.
Stavrakakis joins the company with more than two decades of technology sector experience, including 19 years at Microsoft where he served as director of education sector and public sector for Australia.
His career has focused on implementing cloud technologies to enhance education and public services.
After leaving Microsoft, he worked as general manager Victoria at AWS solutions specialist Cevo Australia.
Most recently, Stavrakakis founded InnovateGPT, an artificial intelligence venture studio creating and scaling generative AI start-ups using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Services.
His appointment follows the resignation of Cassandra Ashworth, who stepped down in January this year, after joining Rapid Circle in June 2024.
"It is rewarding to work with individuals who are dedicated to helping clients maximise their investments in Microsoft technologies, particularly with the levels of AI investment and Copilot adoption forecast for 2025," Stavrakakis said.
Meanwhile, McPherson returns to Australia from the Netherlands to take up the CTO position, bringing his experience as company co-founder to the regional leadership team.
"As a co-founder of Rapid Circle, coming home from the Netherlands, I'm eager to collaborate with our peers at Microsoft to drive new outcomes for our clients," McPherson said.
"My focus will be to help organisations adopt and operationalise AI while mitigating risks and reducing costs," McPherson added.
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