Cloudian announces key leadership changes in Asia Pacific

Cloudian has confirmed the appointment of Anna Christensen as Head of Channels and Alliances for Asia Pacific and Japan, while Victoria Meldrum takes over Christensen's previous role as Head of Marketing for the region.

The changes come amid increased demand across Asia Pacific and Japan as businesses contend with higher data requirements and seek alternatives to navigate uncertainty caused by tariffs.

Cloudian's software-first strategy is allowing organisations to enhance data storage capability using their current hardware, circumventing additional capital expenditures that could be affected by tariff-related price increases. The company has also been assisting customers in sourcing hardware from local suppliers and making available its inventory of pre-configured appliances, purchased before tariffs were introduced, to the APJ market.

Christensen, who has been leading Cloudian's APJ marketing since 2022 and brings extensive experience from IT distributors NEXTGEN and Exclusive Networks, addressed the implications of tariffs for technology investment. "Our software-defined approach has given flexibility, choice and control to our customers and partners across APJ," she said. "Now, it's also helping to shield them from tariff costs and uncertainty while establishing their foundation for data-centric applications, including AI workloads that will drive competitive advantage."

Meldrum, who joins the company from Buckner Brand Management and has over 20 years of experience with organisations including Fortinet, Menulog and Canon, intends to strengthen marketing partnerships in critical and expanding regions such as Australia/New Zealand, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

"Cloudian's unique partner-led model and engagement was a major drawcard for joining the company," said Meldrum. "No one else in the market offers the same breath of technology in the increasingly important object storage space, exemplified by the company's growing partnerships with NVIDIA and other AI leaders."

Both Christensen and Meldrum will collaborate with Cloudian's distributor NEXTGEN on Connect, a new programme designed to assist technology start-ups in Australia and New Zealand. Under the leadership of Wendy O'Keeffe, the Connect initiative aims to equip partners with scalable lead generation, sales finalisation and market representation services to support growing tech companies and cloud vendors in the region.

James Wright, Managing Director for Asia Pacific and Japan at Cloudian, welcomed the appointments and emphasised their alignment with the company's values. "Anna and Victoria are testament to the great talent we have and are adding across our APJ business," said Wright. "They also embody the community and channel-focused approach that is engrained in everything we do and gives back to the incredible APJ and A/NZ ICT ecosystems."