NetApp strengthens UK&I leadership bench with double appointment

NetApp has announced a brace of appointments to its UK&I senior leadership team, as the intelligent data infrastructure vendor looks to meet growing demand for AI, hybrid cloud, modernization, and cyber resilience solutions in the region.

The move sees Liam Varndell join NetApp’s UK&I business as senior director of solutions engineering, while Simon Mead steps into the role of senior director of partner sales.

The vendor said the additions will help strengthen its go-to-market capability across both countries, including its technical pre-sales organization and partner ecosystem, at a time of increasing complexity across customers’ IT setups.

In an announcement, Puneet Gupta, NetApp’s area vice president for the UK and Ireland, said the appointments underline the company’s continued investment in the region.

“Both Liam and Simon bring a proven track record of building teams, driving growth and helping our customers and partners solve real world data management challenges,” he commented.

According to NetApp, both leaders have already started meeting customers, partners, and internal teams across the region as they look to understand their needs and business priorities.

“As our customers and partners navigate an increasingly complex landscape of AI, hybrid cloud and cyber resilience, having leaders of this caliber strengthens our ability to be their most trusted data partner," Gupta added.

A seasoned industry veteran, Liam Varndell joins the business with over two decades of pre-sales and technical architecture leadership experience.

Most recently, he led enterprise pre-sales teams at Google Cloud, where scaled teams through significant growth and led major go-to-market integrations.

Prior to that, he has held positions at Data General, EMC, VCE, and Dell.

Varndell’s appointment comes as NetApp looks to ensure its technical teams are delivering high value to customers dealing with the rise of AI workloads and modern data and security challenges.

“My focus is on building a pre-sales environment where people feel supported, trusted and empowered to do their best work: that's how we deliver the best outcomes for our customers and partners," Varndell said.

Meanwhile, Simon Mead arrives with extensive channel and partner sales experience from previous senior roles at the likes of Red Hat and Dell.

As NetApp’s new senior director for partner sales, he is tasked with accelerating growth with strategic partners across the UK and Ireland as well as ensuring they are equipped to navigate the AI era.

"I've spent much of my career working across the channel and ecosystem, and I know that the best results come when vendors and partners are genuinely aligned," Mead said. “At NetApp, I see a real commitment to that.

“I fundamentally believe our partners will be at the heart of our growth, and I'm looking forward to working with and for them, alongside the wider NetApp team, to go after the opportunity ahead together."

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