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American multinational computer storage and data management company, NetApp has announced that Mark Ridley has been appointed as new regional director for Africa. An experienced sales leader with over 15 years of experience in IT, Ridley will be responsible for all NetApp business in Africa including offices in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria. His role covers development and execution of sales and marketing strategies, enhancing the channel ecosystem and expanding the NetApp customer base in this region. He reports to NetApp’s newly appointed Director MEEEA for the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Africa, Konstantin Ebert. Ridley’s appointment demonstrates NetApp’s commitment to its African growth strategy and affirms that NetApp will continue to develop and prosper in these markets, extracting maximum impact from the expected high domestic growth. To answer local customers’ challenges, the company will look to the strength of its channel and technology alliances as well as the innovation leadership as demonstrated by the depth of its portfolio and best-of-breed quality solutions. These include the world’s leading branded storage operating system ‘clustered Data ONTAP’, the high-performance E-Series and the most comprehensive enterprise flash storage offering in the business. “With many markets emerging and maturing at a fast pace, the African continent offers a very interesting playing field. I am confident that NetApp’s solutions hold tremendous value for partners and end customers such as telecommunications, utility or commodity companies and service providers,” says Mark Ridley, regional director Africa at NetApp. “Our approach in Africa is 100 percent indirect and we will rely heavily on our partners to execute. This includes distribution and integration, but also high value opportunities such as consulting and professional services. I am looking forward to working with them to grow NetApp’s presence on the continent.” “Mark demonstrates all the skills and experience needed to bring our African business to the next level. He is building a team that is 100 percent focused on further developing our successful enterprise business and driving partner enablement on a wide front,” says Konstantin Ebert, Director MEEEA for NetApp. “All the puzzle pieces are in place now to drive a very determined go-to-market strategy. We have a strong sales team and partners that are willing to execute. Their concerted efforts will allow us to interact directly with customers and prospects, delivering enterprise-class service everywhere.” Mark Ridley has over 15 years’ experience in the IT industry and has worked for some of the globe’s most influential companies. Prior to joining NetApp, Mark was country manager for Dell Computers and responsible for Dell’s business across Africa. He has also held senior management positions at Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Panasonic where his responsibilities included the development and implementation of strategic plans and initiatives, creation of revenue streams, driving channel growth and financial profitability.