SAP appoints new President and Managing Director for New Zealand and Australia
Tuesday 10 July 2012, 6:41PM
By Botica Butler Raudon Partners
410 views
SAP Australia and New Zealand (SAP ANZ) announced today the appointment of Andrew Barkla as President and managing director, SAP ANZ. Reporting to Steve Watts, President of SAP Asia Pacific and Japan (SAP APJ), Barkla will be responsible for all SAP’s business operations across the ANZ region.
“SAP is accelerating transformation in the IT industry and it is great to be joining the market leader”, said Barkla. “SAP is well positioned to make a difference to its customers through its innovation strategy, focusing on five market categories: applications, analytics, mobile, database & technology, and the cloud.
“Big data, cloud computing, and mobility present a significant market opportunity for the company. I am looking forward to engaging with our customers and our ecosystem to help them extract the benefits these new technologies have to offer,” he said.
Barkla brings to the position 20 years of local and international business experience. He joins SAP from Unisys, where he was regional vice president, general manager Asia Pacific and Japan. In his role, he was responsible for the strategy and performance of the Unisys business across 13 countries. In addition, he led the Technology Consulting and Systems Integration Business Unit in the region.
Prior to Unisys, Barkla was vice president and general manager, Asia Pacific at PeopleSoft, where he was charged with developing a successful go-to-market and growth strategy. Previously, he was managing director for System Software Associates (SSA) in Australia and New Zealand.
“Andrew joins SAP at an auspicious time, with our innovation strategy fuelling momentum in each of the five market categories,” said Steve Watts, President of SAP APJ. “I know that Andrew’s leadership, energy, and commitment will complement the existing depth of experience and customer focus for which our team in ANZ is well known.
“I am confident that under his guidance SAP ANZ will excel in helping our customers become best run businesses by driving innovation, and delivering solutions that meet their business needs,” he said.