IBM managing director A/NZ, Kerry Purcell.
IBM has appointed former Telstra executive Kerry Purcell as managing director for Australia and New Zealand.
Purcell, who was previously the managing partner of IBM global business services in Japan, replaces acting general manager Jeffrey Rhoda after the retirement of Andrew Stevens five months ago.
In his previous role at IBM, Purcell was responsible for leading the company's consulting, systems integration and applications business for more than three years.
According to a company statement, he was behind the transformation of many Japanese businesses and government clients through the accelerated adoption of cloud, analytics and mobile technologies.
One of the most notable projects includes working with several cities, government and environmental agencies to help with the reconstruction of the Tohoku Region after the 2011 Tsunami.
Purcell said he felt privileged and excited to be appointed the IBM lead for Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s clear that both Australia and New Zealand are undergoing rapid change as the forces of cloud, mobile, social and analytics transform industries,” he said.
“Locally we are executing a strong strategy that will meet this pace of change for our clients, and deliver the higher value solutions and services they need to grow and adapt their businesses.
"IBM continues to make significant investments locally that better enable our clients to take advantage of these market shifts.”
Purcell's previous roles include Xchanging, head of Asia Pacific, Electronic Data Systems (which was later renamed HP Enterprise Services) corporate vice president and managing director of Asia and Japan Telstra general manager, banking and finance.
