Hitachi Vantara names Yasser Elgammal ANZ partner director

Hitachi Vantara has appointed Yasser Elgammal as ANZ Channel Partner and Alliances Director, covering Australia and New Zealand.

He will lead the company's channel and alliances strategy in the region, with responsibility for partner relationships, routes to market and partner-sourced business. His remit also includes working with customers on AI, data modernisation, hybrid cloud and cyber resilience.

The appointment strengthens Hitachi Vantara's regional leadership team as it looks to expand its partner ecosystem across ANZ. Channel partners remain a core route to market for many infrastructure and data suppliers in the region, particularly as customers seek external advice on newer technology deployments.

Elgammal brings more than 25 years of experience across sales, alliances and partner management in the technology sector. His background spans enterprise software, cloud, SaaS, cybersecurity, data, AI and infrastructure.

Most recently, he was head of sales and vendor alliances at Dicker Data, where he delivered double-digit growth in revenue and profitability, according to Hitachi Vantara. Before that, he was regional sales director at VMware, leading a commercial sales team focused on enterprise accounts.

Earlier in his career, Elgammal was national sales manager at APC by Schneider Electric, where he oversaw Australian business strategy, the sales organisation, the partner ecosystem and national go-to-market execution. His experience spans distributors, resellers, service providers, systems integrators and technology alliances.

Partner focus

Peter Bocquet, senior director, APAC partners and alliances at Hitachi Vantara, outlined the reasons for the hire.

"Yasser Elgammal is an exceptionally experienced and trusted leader in alliance and sales management who will support our strategy in working with partners to provide enterprises with solutions that empower them to reduce complexity, drive innovation, and extract maximum value from their data infrastructure," Bocquet said.

He linked the appointment to customer demand for AI-related advisory services.

"With the advent of AI, customers are looking to partners for their market insight, their technical knowledge and skills, and strategic advice. Elgammal has a successful track record and capability in consulting with customers while also building, scaling and leading partner relationships for a wide range of technology firms. We expect his experience to be invaluable as we scale strategic partner partnerships and support customers with an ecosystem of expert partners to guide them on their AI journey," he said.

The comments reflect a broader trend across the enterprise technology market, where vendors are relying on channel partners to help customers combine infrastructure, services and consulting around AI and data projects. In Australia and New Zealand, distributors, resellers and systems integrators have become a key part of that process as businesses reassess data estates, cloud environments and security settings.

Regional remit

Elgammal said his immediate focus would be on strengthening partner relationships and making it easier for organisations to work with Hitachi Vantara.

"There is a significant opportunity to accelerate Hitachi Vantara's partner-led growth across ANZ. Our partners are fundamental to how we take our technology to market, create new opportunities and deliver meaningful outcomes for customers," said Yasser Elgammal, ANZ Channel Partner and Alliances Director at Hitachi Vantara.

He added that customers increasingly want partners that can combine technology with services and sector knowledge.

"As organisations increase investment in AI, data modernisation, hybrid cloud and cyber resilience, they need more than technology. They need trusted partners that can bring together the right technology, expertise and services to solve complex business challenges.

"My priority is to make Hitachi Vantara easier to partner with, deepen our strategic relationships and create more opportunities for our partners to grow alongside us. We already have an exceptional partner base across ANZ, and I'm excited about what we can achieve together. When our partners grow, Hitachi Vantara grows," Elgammal said.

Hitachi Vantara is Hitachi's data storage, infrastructure and hybrid cloud management subsidiary. Its parent company reported revenue of 10,586.7 billion yen for the financial year ended in March, with 606 consolidated subsidiaries and about 290,000 employees worldwide.