David La Rose
IBM has named David La Rose as its new Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) managing director, replacing Kerry Purcell, who has taken up a senior leadership role within IBM Japan.
La Rose has clocked up 28 years at IBM in a variety of senior executive roles across Europe and Asia Pacific. He was recently the Asia Pacific vice president for enterprise and commercial.
“Having spent much of my early career working for IBM in Australia, I regard it as a real privilege to be given the opportunity to lead this business,” La Rose said in a statement.
"I have a strong appreciation for the talent that exists within IBM across Australia and New Zealand, and a great respect for the innovation and industry leadership shown by our clients."
During his time in Europe, La Rose was the general manager of central and eastern Europe where he gained market share and transitioned the business to strategic software and services.
In addition, he was also the vice president, IBM Global Business Partners where he drove the expansion of new ecosystem partners and grew traditional partner revenue.
La Rose also held a number of senior roles within the Systems business in Australia, China and Japan.
“Digital disruption continues to reshape industries and markets around the world," he added. "IBM remains a trusted partner for delivering value and solving business issues, and I look forward to working closely with our clients as they tackle these challenges.”
In September, IBM appointed Nigel Peach as general manager for business partners across A/NZ, replacing Rhody Burton who resigned from the vendor in May.
La Rose's appointment comes just as shares in IBM surged nine per cent after the company beat expectations on revenue and gave an outlook that hinted one of the world's first big computing names was back on a growth track after six years in retreat.
