Microsoft’s Emma Barrett
Microsoft enterprise channel manager Emma Barrett has been named as the company’s new public sector director in New Zealand, a move aimed at bolstering the company’s government push.
Barrett, who won the Entrepreneurship - Channel Excellence award at the Reseller News Innovation Awards 2019, will start her new role at the beginning of December, taking over from enterprise director Vanessa Sorenson, who has been acting public sector director.
For Barrie Sheers, managing director at Microsoft in New Zealand, Barrett’s appointment will be a strong addition to the company’s public sector team.
“Public sector is such an important sector for us and we wanted to make sure we had the right person leading the team,” he said. "Thankfully, we didn’t need to look far.
“Since Emma joined the One Commercial Partner team as enterprise channel manager, she has made an incredible impression on everyone she has worked with. It’s fantastic to have her on the public sector team,” he said.
Barrett joined Microsoft in 2017 after a 13-years at Intergen. As enterprise channel manager, she has led the company’s partner co-sell programme, which has brought hundreds of partner IP solutions and supporting services to customers, unlocking additional value to both customers and the partner ecosystem alike.
Having been a fixture in the local channel landscape for the better part of the past two years, Barrett is now looking forward to tackling the public sector.
“We are fortunate to have a very forward-thinking government, encouraging and enabling innovation across the board to create a better future for all New Zealanders,” she said.
“I am delighted to be stepping into this role and look forward to partnering with our many leading-edge public sector customers and our amazing partner ecosystem to continue this momentum,” she said.
It is understood that Microsoft is actively recruiting to replace Barrett in her enterprise channel manager role.
Credit: Microsoft
As part of its public sector push, Microsoft has also appointed Maciej Surowiec, from Microsoft Brussels, to be Government Affairs Lead.
Surowiec is currently a member of the company’s Europe Government Affairs team, where he supports a range of policy issues, such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) policies which, it is understood, align well with the work Microsoft is currently leading in New Zealand.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to support the great work Microsoft has been undertaking on domestic digital policy issues as well as to strengthen our partnerships on regional and global initiatives,” said Surowiec, who will start in his new role on 1 November.
“I’m looking forward to continuing to support the great work Microsoft has been undertaking on domestic digital policy issues as well as to strengthen our partnerships on regional and global initiatives,” he said.
