Duncan Bennet will leave VMware
VMware A/NZ vice-president and managing director, Duncan Bennet, will step down from his role at the end of 2015. He confirmed the move is independent of the Dell-EMC buyout and is for personal reasons.
“VMware can confirm that Duncan Bennet has decided to leave his position as A/NZ vice-president and managing director, effective 31 December 2015,” the company said, in a statement.
“Duncan took some time out of the business earlier this year to support his wife. Now, after going through that journey, he has made the difficult decision to leave VMware so he can continue to support her through her ongoing recovery,” it added.
Bennet told ARN his wife has been facing health challenges recently and his decision to resign was based on supporting her in her recovery.
“It’s a difficult decision to leave VMware. I love this place but, in other ways, it’s a simple decision because you’ve always got to put family first. I did take a few months out of the business earlier this year to support her through her health issue.
“I came back towards the end of August and, as you can imagine, my role at VMware is pretty demanding and the company is growing and busy. So it was basically a situation where I couldn’t balance the demanding full-time role whilst also spending the time I need to in supporting my wife as she recovers,” he said.
“It’s a decision I made and it’s also got nothing to do with any of the announcements from VMware or the Dell-EMC acquisition.”
The news follows John Donovan’s departure from the company in October, which Bennet said is yet to be replaced.
Bennet said he’s going to focus on his wife’s recovery before seeking other future opportunities. However, Bennet indicated that he would not be taking up as big a role as previously.
“I will find a way, in the new year, where I can balance spending the time with my wife and have a load of work but it won’t be a full-time role, another large role in another large technology company. There’s plenty of opportunity for me with all of my experience in the industry to add value to businesses without having to come back to full-time work.”
Bennet said he will most likely remain in the A/NZ industry.
“At VMware, we are a very channel focused company and I really enjoyed that. If I end up working in an Australian company, by definition, many of them are going to be involved in the channel one form or another,” he said.
As VMware searches for a replacement, the A/NZ business, in the interim, will be managed by VMware Asia-Pacific and Japan general business vice-president, Sharat Sinha. He will be supported by the local A/NZ leadership team as Sinha manages the responsibility from the Singapore office.
Bennet served VMware for six of his 35-plus years in management and sales in the IT industry. Before serving as the A/NZ vice-president and managing director for almost five years, Bennet was the company’s SMB and commercial sales director for more than a year.
He was also previously the founder and managing director of Advocalit for two years. Before that, he served as the A/NZ vice-president and managing director of Sun Microsystems for almost 10 years.
Some of his other roles include working at Forte Software, Telstra, Prime Computer, and Pyramid Technology in various roles.
“I would like to thank Duncan for the significant contribution he has made to the VMware A/NZ business and wish him well,” VMware Asia-Pacific and Japan corporate senior vice-president, Sanjay Mirchandani, said.
