Avaya ANZ expands local reach with new appointments

Avaya Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) is continuing its expansion with key senior appointments and promotions, aiming to build on its strong business results in the local market.

Among the new hires is Dustin Laidsaar, who has been promoted to principal consultant for Avaya Professional Services (APS), and Nick Evans, who has been named territory manager for New Zealand.

As head of New Zealand, Evans is responsible for increasing Avaya's presence in a market which is typically entrepreneurial in adopting new technologies, including artificial intelligence in the unified communications and collaboration space.

Evans has more than 20 years' experience in the communications industry and will work with partners and customers across all business segments - including small business, government and large enterprise.

He will be responsible for enabling real-time communications applications as part of an organisation's overall digital strategies.

Grant Teague will also work closely with Evans as the sales engineer for New Zealand, supporting him in expanding Avaya's presence in the market.

Laidsaar joined Avaya ANZ in 2013 as part of the sales organisation, however, he is now focused on helping customers navigate their digital transformation journeys.

The new role involves analysing business requirements and transformation needs of customers, helping to develop tailored, real-time communications strategies that enable them to deliver better experiences.

Peter Chidiac, Avaya managing director of Australia and New Zealand says, "As we have transformed the Australian and New Zealand businesses over the last two years, we have created a highly-skilled team of experts in developing and delivering software and services that enable unique experiences for our customers and partners.

"With the addition of these experienced personnel, we can further enhance the value we generate for companies on their digital transformation journeys as the adoption of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things gains further momentum in the communications industry.

Michael Thomas has also been appointed as territory account manager for the midmarket, with responsibility for working with partners to drive the company's robust collaboration portfolio.

In addition, Jake Davies will serve as account manager for NSW, working on leading accounts to deliver engagement and customer experience solutions that meet their unique business requirements, in the cloud or on-premises.

Avaya says these appointments build on positive business results in ANZ, including notable agreements with organisations in government and financial services, among others.