Fred Viet
Microsoft has appointed Brett Murray to the role of Surface Commercial Channel Lead in Australia, following the departure of Fred Viet.
Having recently joined the tech giant from Lenovo in February 2016, Viet is leaving both the vendor and Australia, moving back to France for personal reasons, as confirmed via a Microsoft statement.
As such, Murray will take the reins on July 1, transitioning from his current role of Director of Mobile Device Sales in Australia and New Zealand.
With previous roles at Telstra, LG and Palm Inc, Murray will now drive Microsoft’s Surface commercial channel expansion strategy across the country, following the opening up of its premium product line to resellers earlier this year.
As reported by ARN in January, Microsoft has expanded its Surface reseller channel to meet the demand for devices in Australia, with over 150 new authorised resellers now on board.
Previously, the company had 14 authorised Surface resellers, ranging from Datacom, Data#3, Dimension Data, Ethan Group, and Staples, but now plans are in place to deliver on its promise to grow the opportunity for more partners to sell Surface across commercial, SMB, education and the public sector markets in Australia.
“Brett has always demonstrated a strong through partner approach to his business across both consumer and business channels and is looking forward to this new opportunity,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated.
Viet on the other hand departs the company after three months, having previously spent more than 11 years at Lenovo, most recently as its Australia and New Zealand channel director.
First starting as global account manager, Viet took on the role as sales director for large accounts at Lenovo, holding the channel director position since 2011.
More to follow.
