Cloud marketplace provider Pax8 has recently announced the hiring of Lindsay Zwart as its new EVP and GM of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. We spoke with Zwart about joining the company and the unique needs of the region’s channel partners.
Zwart joins global leadership team as Pax8 continues to grow in APAC
Zwart has been tapped to lead all aspects of Pax8’s work and goals in the region.
Before joining Pax8, Zwart served as the chief enterprise officer at Vodafone New Zealand, where she pioneered the digital transformation of local enterprises through the adoption of 5G, IoT, and cloud technologies. Zwart also held leadership positions at Microsoft and IBM.
While at Microsoft, Zwart was US COO and GM of the multi-billion-dollar cloud and enterprise business, led the Azure business in the US market, and was also the GM for Dynamics, SMB, and partner channel operations throughout her tenure.
Now, she’s tasked with leading a regional operation already experiencing success as it continues to chart a growth path alongside the global impact Pax8 hopes to make in the channel.
“This is an exciting opportunity for me to grow a region,” Zwart said. “Pax8 is already successful globally, and we have such strong thought leadership and innovation when it comes to the agentic future. I’m excited to expand our presence in APAC.”
“Lindsay’s appointment signals our unwavering commitment to the Asia-Pacific market and our confidence in the region’s tremendous potential,” said Pax8’s President and Chief Commerce Officer Nick Heddy in a statement. “This announcement also marks a strategic realignment as Pax8 prepares for its next growth phase in the APAC region in which Lindsay will work closely alongside global leaders, including Chris Sharp and Ryan Walsh. Her proven leadership, strategic vision, and operational excellence will be instrumental in unlocking new opportunities and accelerating our growth trajectory. I am confident that under her leadership, our APAC operations will reach unprecedented levels of success.”
Former regional leader Chris Sharp moves into corporate projects role
Lindsay Zwart takes over the helm from Chris Sharp, who has now been named the SVP of business development, a global role. He will report to Craig Donovan, chief experience officer at Pax8. Information provided by Pax8 says Sharp will help lead the pursuit of strategic opportunities such as global partnerships, new market entrances, and other strategic initiatives.
The company says this role leverages Sharp’s proven track record in market development, strategic planning, and operational leadership, while allowing him to impact the broader organisational strategy.
“Chris Sharp and his team have done an excellent job in starting this business, and now I have the opportunity to take this and continue to scale it across the market,” Zwart said.
Brand awareness and more vendors just some of Zwart’s early goals
While Zwart is complimentary of Pax8’s early success in APAC, she says there is still work to do in becoming a recognized brand in the market. She told us her goals are to engage existing partners in the region to learn how Pax8 can better support partner growth while also landing and expanding global initiatives in a way that fits the region’s complexities.
“Pax8’s corporate leadership is very sensitive to and flexible around in-market needs, and that has already been very helpful as I’ve gotten started,” Zwart said. “It’s not about taking the US plan and just building out the same thing here. We are going to work to address what partners in this region need.”
“The region is a really interesting melting pot of cultures and also a mixture of mature and emerging markets,” Zwart added, noting that country-specific markets such as Australia can be vastly different than others in the broader region much earlier in their journey.
Zwart says she’s already working with corporate leadership to identify the additional vendors Pax8 can support in APAC, many of which are based on partner feedback Zwart has been focused on collecting since she started.
Pax8 is also laser-focused on bringing its partners into what it calls the future of “managed intelligence providers,” a new way of thinking about IT services in an age of agentic AI. Zwart, of course, is committed to bringing these tenets to APAC partners no matter where they are in their maturity.
“I am telling partners, you cannot wait on understanding the AI transformation. If you wait, you will be overtaken,” Zwart said. “I want all of our APAC partners to use our AI Guided Growth, and I want us to stay focused on how we can help partners grow.”