Microsoft New Zealand announces Director Small, Midmarket Solution and Partners

Microsoft New Zealand today announced the appointment of Chris Ichter to the role of Director Small, Midmarket Solutions and Partners.

Chris was previously head of Microsoft New Zealand’s Enterprise and Partner Group business after joining the New Zealand subsidiary from Microsoft France in 2008. He has been with Microsoft since 2003 and prior to that worked for a number of significant IT industry players including HP, Memorex, ICL and Xerox. His experience spans 20 years, and he has managed teams with responsibilities for direct sales to customers and through-partner sales.

Microsoft New Zealand Managing Director, Paul Muckleston, says the priority for the role is to lead the team responsible for directing partner and business engagement, allocating resources, driving sales and identifying local market initiatives within the small- to medium-sized business segment in New Zealand.

“With over 3,000 partners in our New Zealand eco system, heading our partner network is a critically important role – both for Microsoft and the New Zealand economy as a whole. As a group, these companies generate more than $2.4 billion in revenue for themselves, and for every dollar Microsoft makes in New Zealand, companies in the local ecosystem make over $12.

“New Zealand is driven by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and technology is a great way for them to be more productive, create jobs and contribute to the economic and social success of New Zealand. Chris and his team are dedicated to help SMEs grow their businesses.”

“Over that last three years Chris has grown dramatically the Enterprise Business and it is testament to Chris’ experience and the extraordinary work he has done at Microsoft New Zealand that we have appointed this role internally. An important part of our company culture is internal talent development and we look forward to welcoming Chris into his new role.”