IBM New Zealand Appoints Mike Smith as Managing Director

This is a supplied media release

Mike Smith returns to IBM following 17 years of executive experience in the ICT sector.

Auckland, New Zealand, 3 October 2016 – IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Mike Smith has been appointed as Managing Director of IBM New Zealand. Mr Smith returns to IBM after 17 years during which he held a number of executive positions in leading New Zealand ICT companies. He will be based in Auckland.

Mr Smith replaces Rob Lee, who led the New Zealand business for three years, and will retire from IBM at the end of November after a distinguished career spanning more than 30 years.

Prior to his new appointment at IBM, Mr Smith was General Manager of Cloud and Sourcing at Spark Digital NZ, was on the advisory boards of Revera and CCL, and also Chaired the Lexel Systems advisory board. He served as Chief Executive at Oxygen Business Systems for ten years. Earlier in his career, Mr Smith held a number of sales and management roles at IBM in Wellington and Christchurch.

“Mike’s knowledge of the New Zealand market, leadership experience and lasting affinity for the IBM brand make him the right person to lead IBM New Zealand,” says Kerry Purcell, Managing Director, IBM Australia and New Zealand. “Mike’s focus will be to work with our local clients and partners, helping them to realise the opportunities of the digital era.”

“Having once worked at IBM, and more recently competed against the company, receiving this opportunity to lead the New Zealand team is a real privilege,” says Mr Smith. “Few companies have IBM’s ability to create new markets and help solve significant business and societal problems with technology. IBM is transforming how it does business, making this an exciting time to engage with clients and partners.”

Mr Smith holds an MBA from the University of Canterbury and has also studied strategy at Harvard Business School.

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