Elisa Kelsall (IBM Australia)
IBM Australia has poached TikTok's Elisa Kelsall as its new general manager for ecosystem and alliances.
As part of the newly created role, Kelsall will report to Nicholas Flood, IBM Australia’s managing director and will be responsible for “leading the transformation of [IBM’s] Australian ecosystem”.
Kelsall was previously head of partnerships for Australia and New Zealand at Generation Z social media platform TikTok.
Her career also saw her spend almost a decade at Google, holding several senior positions, and also at Toshiba.
“We are delighted to have welcomed Elisa to IBM Technology’s leadership team in Australia, where she will lead the local IBM Ecosystem,” said Nicholas Flood, VP of IBM technology and managing director of IBM Australia.
“IBM’s ecosystem is integral to our transformation story and Elisa’s experience will be invaluable in leading the transformation of our Australian ecosystem, making it easier for partners to do business with IBM and succeed.”
Kelsall said she had already “enjoyed meeting with several local partners”, adding that she is “taking on board their feedback to inform how [IBM] looks to deepen [its] relationships with existing partners”.
“It's an exciting time in the IBM Ecosystem for our partners and I am delighted to have joined IBM Australia with the mission of bringing the best of our technology solutions to partners for the end goal of growing our businesses together,” she said.
Kelsall’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for IBM’s relationship with its partner ecosystem.
Its recently appointed vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific (APAC), Paul Burton, has vowed to treat the regional channel as "king”, incentivising account managers to sell via partners and cracking down on disintermediation.
