SUSE taps SAP veteran Phillip Miltiades to lead APJ business

Open source software vendor SUSE has appointed former SAP veteran Phillip Miltiades as its new Asia-Pacific and Japan president.

The appointment comes as the company aims to triple its business across the region within three years, on the back of a strong FY2020 first half where annual contract value (ACV) bookings grew 22 percent during the period.

Based in Sydney, Miltiades is responsible for driving customer and partner business outcomes and success for SUSE in the region.

Commenting on his appointment, Miltiades said this is a wonderful time for him to join SUSE.

“Open source is becoming the backbone for driving digital innovation, according to Gartner,” he said.

“Increasingly, open source is being adopted for leading edge innovation like mobile, big data, AI and machine learning, and we see great potential for growth across APJ. We provide simplified, innovative and adaptable open source solutions for our customers’ mission-critical business applications to help them achieve the outcomes they desire.”

Before joining SUSE, Miltiades was APJ chief operating officer for SAP Digital Core, his final role at the software giant to cap off a 15-year stint. Other stints included time at IAG, Intelligroup, Kimberly-Clark and the NSW Government.

SUSE chief customer officer Paul Devlin said: “Miltiades’ appointment will extend our capabilities to serve the evolving needs of customers looking to simplify their IT infrastructure, modernize applications and accelerate their business through digital transformation.”

“His extensive selling and delivery experience with solid, lasting business relationships with customers are going to help us intensify our focus on customer engagement and deliver the values customers are looking for. He is a great addition to our leadership team and will further strengthen our market position as a leading open-source software partner for our customers in the region.”