VMware has appointed Sanjay Mirchandani to the post of senior vice president and general manager to lead the VMware Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ) business, effective October 14.

Mirchandani succeeds Andrew Dutton, who will continue to lead the virtualisation and cloud infrastructure company in the region for the next month.

After which, Dutton will partner with Mirchandani for the remainder of the year to facilitate smooth transition of leadership, before retiring after five years at VMware and a 30-year career in IT.

“Sanjay Mirchandani is taking over at an exciting stage of VMware’s progress in APJ, which is our fastest-growing geographical region," says Carl Eschenbach, president and CEO, VMware.

"A substantial opportunity lies ahead for VMware in this part of the world.

"Sanjay’s rich experience as an IT and business veteran – as well as his deep understanding of Asia Pacific markets – will build on the hugely successful contribution made by Andrew.

"I would like to thank Andrew for his dedication and commitment to the APJ region over the past five years.”

Mirchandani has 25 years of international business, IT and consultancy experience, including 11 years spent in Asia Pacific, joining VMware from EMC. There he most recently served as executive vice president, global enterprise services, helping lead EMC’s rapid-growth market initiatives and engaging with global customers.

Earlier in his career, Mirchandani served as Microsoft’s regional vice president, Enterprise Services in Asia, working with the region’s largest customers and partners.

“I am delighted to take on the challenge of driving continued VMware growth in APJ," Mirchandani says.

"Our top priority will be to help customer organisations transform their businesses on their journey to the era of IT-as-a-Service.

“I would like to thank the VMware APJ team for excellent work in building a solid foundation. This positions us extremely well to develop our business further and capture the opportunity ahead.

"We are in great shape, and I look forward to leading the team to new heights in a region now regarded as one of VMware’s engines of growth.”

Echoing Mirchandani's comments, the departing Dutton said: “Sanjay has all the experience and know-how needed to lead VMware APJ into the huge opportunity that lies ahead in this exciting region.

"I am proud to have worked with a team that has demonstrated such talent, passion and determination to succeed.”

VMware has undergone significant expansion in the APJ region and today serves 55,000 customers.