Extreme Networks has appointed Chris Georgellis to head its local operations replacing John Gonzalas.

Georgellis takes on the role of Australia and New Zealand managing director at a time of change for Extreme, which recently acquired Avaya Networking and is in the process of acquiring Brocade's IP networking business.

Georgellis, who will be responsible for setting the strategic direction and growth plan for the ‘new' Extreme in Australia and New Zealand, was previously South Pacific sales manager for Aruba.

His nearly 15 years in the networking, telecommunications and systems integration/IT industry sector has seen him working with companies including UXC Connect, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco.

“I am very excited to be joining the ‘new' Extreme at such a dynamic time for the company,” Georgellis says.

“Extreme continues to expand its footprint in the global networking industry and I'm thrilled to join a company that is so focused on helping their customers do more.

“I am looking forward to working with our team and channel partners here as we expand on the next phase of growth in the ANZ market.

Simon Naylor, Extreme Networks Asia Pacific and Japan vice president, says Georgellis ‘will bring great energy and experience to our business in ANZ that will provide tangible beneifts to our employees, partners and customers in the region'.

“Extreme continues to strengthen and expand its position in the enterprise market with a hyper-focus on delivering end-to-end software-driven networking solutions to enterprise customers,” Naylor says.

Georgellis replaces John Gonzalez, who left the position of ANZ regional director for the vendor in January after four years in the top job.

He had previously been ANZ country manager for Enterasys Networks which was acquired by Extreme Networks in 2013. He had held that role for more than six years, and had previously been in various technical, sales and management positions with the company.