Courtney Dodds (Cisco)
Cisco has appointed Courtney Dodds as channel leader across Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China (APJC), replacing Vicki Batka in spearheading the vendor’s partner ecosystem.
Channel Asia can reveal that Dodds will head up Partner Sales across the region following an internal and external search, an appointment which is effective immediately.
Dodds is a veteran of Cisco with more than 15 years experience holding a variety of leadership roles, most recently as managing director of Cloud Infrastructure and Software Group with the responsibility for developing the go-to-market strategy for hardware and software solutions as well as partner alliances across the region.
Prior to that, Dodds was director of the Data Center Portfolio across Australia and New Zealand, in addition to holding a number of strategic sales and marketing roles at both HP and IBM before joining the business in 2008.
“Partners are fundamental to all the major transitions we are making as a company, and play a critical role in driving Cisco’s ongoing success,” Dodds said.
“We have a unique opportunity in front of us driven by Cisco’s ongoing business transformation, and the major shifts triggered by the pandemic -- many of which are here to stay and are redefining entire sectors. I look forward to working with our partners across the region to together capture the exciting opportunities ahead of us.”
In his new role, Dodds -- who will remain based in Melbourne -- will report to Dave West as president of APJC, in addition to joining the regional leadership team.
“Courtney is a much admired leader with deep knowledge of technology, and a great understanding of the positive impact it can have on customers, partners, and larger communities,” West added. “He has been instrumental in driving Cisco's growth in key segments across the region in recent years by developing innovative approaches, building trust with customers, and developing high performing diverse teams.
“I am confident that he has the right experience, strategic thinking, and leadership qualities to work with our partners to capture opportunities across the region.”
The appointment of Dodds comes less than two months after Batka unveiled plans to vacate her role running the regional partner business at Cisco, departing the vendor following more than six years of channel advocacy and ecosystem enhancement across APJC.
“After more than half a decade, Vicki will be leaving Cisco,” said West, when speaking to Channel Asia. “During her time here she has had a tremendous impact on our business, culture and most importantly in successfully evolving our partner ecosystem.”
