Dimension Data has appointed for SAP exec John Lombard to lead the company's Asia Pacific business, replacing outgoing chief Bill Padfield.

Lombard is tasked with managing and oversseing all aspect of Dimension Data APAC operations, and will be responsible for driving the company's transition into a leading IT services company.

Lombard takes the reigns today and will be based in Singapore. He previously held the role or senior vice president for SAP, where was responsible for services and support across 14 countries in the Asia Pacific Japan region and was central to driving the company's cloud services, consulting, development and education portfolio.

“John's expertise and wide-ranging background in delivering services that help clients unlock the value of their IT investments will be critical as Dimension Data continues to transform itself to a next generation IT services company,” Padfield says.

“Throughout his career, John has been focused on providing consultancy that drives transformation and ensures clients keep up with the latest market trends and stay ahead of the competition; we look forward to him doing the same at Dimension Data,” he adds.

Lombard steps into the CEO role left vacant by Padfield, who has held the CEO for the region since 2003. Padfield will move to a new role as chairman of Dimension Data Asia Pacific.

Jason Goodall, chief operating officer at Dimension Data, says, “Bill has quadrupled the revenue for the Asia Pacific region during his 13 years' stint as CEO, and built a strong talented team with a keen commitment to client and employee satisfaction.