Kyndryl Appoints Kimberley Marlay as ANZ Partnerships Lead

Global IT infrastructure services provider, Kyndryl, has appointed Kimberley Marlay as its new Head of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances for Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Role focused on a strong channel presence

In her new remit, Marlay will focus on expanding Kyndryl’s local partnerships with major cloud providers and strengthening the company’s channel ecosystem to meet the rising demand for hybrid and multi-cloud solutions.

In an interview with Channel Insider, Marlay noted that this was not a newly created role, and that she was “fortunate” to have the opportunity to take the step up. “My predecessor established great relationships and a great operating rhythm, my opportunity now is to focus on growth through these strategic alliances and partnerships,” she said.

Marlay has been part of Kyndryl since its formation when it broke away from IBM in 2021. Previously she was the company’s Head of Marketing in ANZ, and before that, she had over a decade of experience with IBM.

“I was attracted to Kyndryl’s investment thesis and the significant level of deep domain expertise held by our engineers across the world,” Marlay said.

“The skills shortage is evident across so many technologies and industries, and when Kyndryl was established as an independent company three years ago this expertise was unlocked and brought to market.”

Kyndryl also focused on hyperscaler partnerships

In her new role, Marlay will lead efforts to deepen Kyndryl’s relationships with key hyperscaler partners, including Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. These partnerships are expected to enhance the seamless delivery of cloud-based solutions to Kyndryl’s clients across various industries. Marlay will also work on identifying and cultivating local partnerships to boost Kyndryl’s offerings in its six technology practices, ensuring the company is well-positioned to support customers’ evolving needs.

As with most other organizations in IT, Marlay claimed that the big opportunities for Kyndryl were in cloud, data, AI, security, and resilience. “This is where our customers are asking for help,” she said. “By collaborating with our hyperscaler partners – Microsoft, AWS and Google Cloud – as well as other strategic partners, we can accelerate cloud transformation and drive innovation for our customers in a seamless way within the ecosystem that they already operate within.”

Ashish Kumar, President of Kyndryl ANZ, said in a release: “With strategic partnerships being an important engine of growth for Kyndryl, this winning combination makes her a perfect fit to lead our local Alliances team and unlock greater value for our customers.”

Marlay one of several ANZ leadership changes

It has been a significant week for movements across the ANZ channel. Telecommunications provider, Swoop, appointed Anthony Camilleri as its Head of Infrastructure, NRI Australia CEO Dean Langenbach announced his departure from the company, and video conferencing specialist Zoom appointed Mike Johnson to drive local partner growth.

Elsewhere, Peak Insight has appointed Stefano Pesic as its new CEO, and NetApp has appointed Jim Burke to lead Enterprise Sales.

Finally, leading services provider Datacom has appointed former Avanade executive Laura Malcolm as its managing director for Australian operations. Malcolm will manage the 2,500-strong Australian Datacom workforce.

October was a busy month for channel leadership appointments. Read our recap to learn which companies have new leaders in their ranks.