Microsoft appoints new area VP for Asia Pacific

• 16-year company veteran to be responsible for commercial and consumer products, services and support offerings
• Has served in a number of senior-level Microsoft roles, including worldwide VP of Microsoft Business Solutions

MICROSOFT has appointed Cesar Cernuda (pic) its new area vice president for the Asia Pacific region. In his new role, he will lead Microsoft’s business in Asia Pacific, which includes 17 offices in 12 countries, over 2,000 employees and 28,000 valued partners.
 
He will be responsible for leading the company’s commercial and consumer products, services and support offerings, as the region continues its aggressive consumption of cloud, mobile, big data and social technologies, Microsoft said in a statement.
 
Key to unlocking this opportunity will be continuing – and accelerating – Microsoft’s current transformation from a primarily on-premise software business to a devices-and-services company, offering integrated experiences across PCs, tablets, mobile devices and TV.
 
These experiences will be delivered via Microsoft’s network of 28,000 dedicated partners, the company said.
 
Commenting on Cernuda’s appointment, Jean-Philippe Courtois, president of Microsoft International, said “Cesar offers a great blend of proven leadership qualities, extensive experience in the key Asia Pacific growth areas of emerging markets and small/ medium business, and a genuine passion – for our customers, our partners (and) our employees ….”
 
“I am delighted and humbled to be offered the opportunity to lead Microsoft’s business in one of the fastest and most important growth regions in the world; one that offers both incredible opportunity, a unique set of challenges and great diversity,” Cernuda said.
 
A Microsoft veteran of some 16 years, Cernuda was most recently vice president of Sales, Marketing and Services for Microsoft’s Latin American operations, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
 
Prior to that role, he served in a number of senior-level Microsoft roles, including worldwide vice president of Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS) sales and field operations, vice president of MBS International and director of the Small & Medium Business Solutions and Partner Group for Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) organization.
 
Cernuda started his career in the banking industry, working on the launch of Banco 21 (currently known as Banco Gallego), before joining Software AG, where he successfully developed a new business channel for the company’s products and services sales, and ran the financial sector division.
 
He is an Honorary Patron of Plataforma Solidaria de Asturias, a foundation focused on helping and supporting integral education and attention to the most basic needs for a group of children in Bolivia.
 
Cernuda holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Marketing from ESIC University in Spain, and an MBA from IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Spain.
 
While Cernuda’s appointment is effective immediately, he will relocate from Florida with his wife and two children to assume his responsibilities in Singapore in the near future.

 
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