Erin Mikan (Hitachi Vantara)
Hitachi Vantara has appointed Macquarie Telecom's Erin Mikan as channel sales manager for Australia and New Zealand.
While the position of channel sales manager itself is new, Mikan takes over the responsibilities of Marc Fiala, who held the role of senior partner business manager and channel leader for the region since April 2019. ARN understands Fiala left the business earlier this year.
Appointed as of three weeks ago, Mikan’s onboarding has been virtual due to the coronavirus pandemic and is in “listen-and-learn mode”, according to the systems integrator.
She comes into the role with over 10 years of managerial experience in the Australian tech sector, and over 20 years in the sector overall.
Her most recent position was as strategic partner and alliance manager, cloud services, at Macquarie Telecom. Prior to this, she also held positions at Dell, IBM, Lenovo and ACS Data.
Mikan's previous experience with dealing with partners aligns with Hitachi Vantara's commitment to its partner base, according to vice president and managing director Adrian Johnson.
“It’s been great to welcome Erin to the team as channel sales manager for Hitachi Vantara Australia and New Zealand, as she shares our commitment to providing a predictable, profitable and pioneering experience for our channel partners,” he said.
On her appointment, Mikan said she has “an absolutely maniacal customer satisfaction focus” and will keep this focus moving into the role.
“When I say that I’m a champion for the customer, I’m talking about two types. Channel partners are our customers, deserving of attention, understanding and support. And together we focus on the end customer to solve challenges and achieve the best outcomes for all involved,” she said.
“Integrity, trust, transparency and communication – especially about rules of engagement and go to market strategy – are extremely important when it comes to partner relationships.
“The best engagements are the ones where vendors, partners and the customer work hand in hand, when there is trust and support across the board, because that is how we ensure the best solution for the end user.”
