Pure Storage has reshuffled its leadership team with the appointment of two senior channel executives.
Effective immediately, Pure Storage A/NZ country manager, Nigel Peach, will take on the new role of director of alliances and systems integrators for APJ.
Former Southern Cross Computers chief executive, Mike Sakalas, joins Pure as country manager for A/NZ, replacing Peach in the local business.
Sakalas brings 20 years’ data storage, sales and senior business management experience with him, including key roles with EMC in the US, NetApp in the US and Australia, and most recently, as chief executive of Australian systems integrator, Southern Cross Computer Systems.
Sakalas is tasked with building on the strong foundation Peach and his team have established in the local market with customers and scaling the business to the next level.
Peach will be responsible for driving and developing the company's relationships with strategic alliance partners, systems integrators, service providers and outsourcers across the region.
Peach was Pure’s first employee in A/NZ when the company opened its doors locally in late 2013.
In less than 18 months, he has led the business from start-up stage to a successful operation with a motivated partner community and a significant customer base with public references such as Australian Rugby Union, Perfection Fresh, Toga Group and many others.
Pure Storage APJ vice president, Michael Alp, said Peach's new role was critical for business across the region.
"With high competition in the local data storage space, Nigel rose to the challenge of building our business and customer base in Australia and New Zealand," he said.
"His great success is a testament to both the strength of the Pure offering and Nigel’s talent in working with customers to provide genuine business value.
Alp said Sakalas had a blue-ribbon career history in enterprise IT, making him a standout to take on the role.
"Mike has a detailed understanding of our industry and an enviable track record in growing a business by focusing strongly on customer needs," he said.
"Mike is a valuable addition to the Pure team and I look forward to working closely with him to continue the momentum with customers in the A/NZ market.”
