Hitachi Vantara appoints new ANZ channel leader

Hitachi Vantara has named Erin Mikan as Australia and New Zealand channel sales manager.

Mikan's more than twenty years' experience in the Australian tech sector spans senior marketing, partnership and sales roles at Dell, IBM and Lenovo.

For the past three and a half years, Mikan focused on cloud services as Macquarie Telecom Group strategic partner and alliance manager.

Currently in her third week on the job, Mikan says onboarding has of course been virtual due to the ongoing pandemic situation and will involve gaining both internal and external perspectives on Hitachi Vantara's Australian and New Zealand channel relationships, strengths and next steps.

"Integrity, trust, transparency and communication – especially about rules of engagement and go to market strategy – are extremely important when it comes to partner relationships," says Mikan. 

"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.

Mikan adds that she values what she calls "an absolutely maniacal customer satisfaction focus" and will bring that to her new role at Hitachi Vantara.

"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," Mikan says.

She is happy to return to a channel-facing role and says Hitachi Vantara is a vendor that ticks all the boxes.

"If I'm going to put my name behind a brand, it needs to have a great reputation as an ethical, customer-focused organisation with a solid offering. I have always heard very good things about Hitachi Vantara, and previously when it was Hitachi Data Systems, so taking on this role wasn't a difficult decision from that perspective.

Hitachi Vantara ANZ vice president and managing director Adrian Johnson says, "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.

"We are in complete agreement that teamwork and collaboration are key to supporting our partners whether they resell, deliver, manage or create solutions with our best-in-class technologies, so we can deliver meaningful business outcomes both for our partners and our customers.