Riverbed names Malcolm Down as ANZ channel chief

Unified observability vendor Riverbed has named Malcolm Down as its new ANZ director of channels and alliances, replacing Nader Barsoum.

Down returns to Riverbed after four years, where he will be responsible for its partner ecosystem and to support partners through business development and enablement. He will report to SVP of global partners and alliances Alex Thurber.

“I’m really excited to be back at Riverbed as the company enters the next stage in our evolution,” Down said.

“We have always been focused on the delivery of exceptional end user experience and in the new ways of hybrid working this is more important than ever before, and It provides a massive opportunity for our partners to become even more important to their end customers and deliver true business value.”

Riverbed also brings back a dedicated channel chief after ANZ channel sales director Nader Barsoum left in July 2021. CRN understands the vendor had engaged an external channel consultant during this gap.

New distie

Riverbed also appointed OrcaTech as its newest ANZ distributor, its second along with current distributor Arrow ECS. The partnership comes as the vendor looks to invest more on growth in the region.

Orca Tech general manager Craig Ashwood said, “We’re looking forward to introducing Riverbed to an expansive group of partners.”

“I’m really excited about the rapid progress Riverbed has made on both the unified observability/visibility and acceleration sides of the business, and as a cybersecurity-focused distributor, our goal is to assist Riverbed and our partners to take advantage of this to accelerate adoption and growth.”

Commenting on the appointment, Down said, “Orca Tech’s market reach, along with the company’s highly experienced and skilled team, will support our partners as cloud, mobility and hybrid working continue to drive IT complexity - increasing the need for unified observability and acceleration solutions so that organisations can fully deliver on their digital transformation strategies.”

Malcolm Down most recently worked at Optus as strategic alliance manager from 2020 to 2021, while also running a non-IT business from 2018 before rejoining Riverbed this month.

In his last stint, Down was Riverbed ANZ service provider alliances director from 2013 to 2018, and technical alliance manager for ANZ service providers from 2012 to 2013.

Prior stints include technical roles at Radware, Alphawest, Telstra, AAPT, the ABC and Cable Options.