SAN JOSE, Calif. - Jan. 24, 2013 - Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM), the global leader in open standards-based unified communications and collaboration (UC&C), today announced the appointments of two new Presidents, Damian Artt as President of the Americas and Michael Alp as President of the Asia Pacific region. Artt and Alp will be responsible for leading the sales strategy and execution in their respective geographies, to help drive the next phase of growth and opportunities for Polycom.

 

"I am extremely pleased to announce the appointments of Damian Artt and Michael Alp, two world-class and dynamic sales leaders who have both led transformational growth in high-tech companies, and will be great leaders in our Americas and Asia Pacific regions, respectively," said Polycom President and CEO, Andy Miller. "Late last year, Polycom announced the largest and most important product launch in our history, with solutions designed to accelerate the mass adoption of video collaboration and fuel new growth opportunities for Polycom and our partners. Damian and Michael will lead Polycom's execution of this launch in their respective theaters, helping to drive growth for the Company and our partner community."

 

"I'm thrilled to have Damian and Michael on board, which now completes Polycom's sales leadership team across all theaters," said Tracey Newell, EVP of Global Sales. "Damian and Michael are proven sales leaders with deep experience in technology and solutions selling, and will help take Polycom to new levels."

 

Artt brings to Polycom a wealth of experience in both sales and services growth, and is experienced in solutions selling and building world class sales organizations. Prior to joining Polycom, he served as Senior Vice President for Wind River Systems' worldwide sales and services organization, helping the company grow revenue significantly from 2007 to 2009 (Wind River Systems was acquired by Intel in 2009). Prior to his eight years spent at Wind River Systems, Artt held a variety of executive level sales and operational roles at Cadence Design Systems over a span of 12 years. Artt holds a BS in Engineering, from Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

 

"I joined Polycom because we have the ability to literally change the way businesses communicate and collaborate forever," said Artt. "The industry is transforming rapidly, and Polycom is in a unique position to accelerate the adoption of video collaboration, enabling businesses to see benefits such as significant productivity gains, improved communications, and better employee engagement."

 

The Americas geography includes both North America and CaLA (Caribbean and Latin America). Artt takes over the Americas role from Newell, who led the region on an interim basis since July 2012. Through Q3 2012, Polycom has gained 5% market share in North America. Artt will be based at the Company's headquarters in San Jose.

 

Alp brings to Polycom experience and expertise across hardware, infrastructure, and application software, and has been responsible for leading aggressive growth plans for major technology companies throughout Asia Pacific and Japan. Alp joins Polycom from technology and cloud computing firm EMC Corporation, where he was most recently Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan for the Backup & Recovery Systems business based out of Hong Kong. He was previously Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, for Data Domain. Alp holds a BA in Politics and Psychology from the University of Adelaide.

 

"I am delighted to join Polycom and be given the opportunity to lead the company's progress in Asia Pacific," said Alp. "The company had an incredible year of change in 2012 - from brand transformation to the announcement of new groundbreaking technology and solutions that are completely changing the industry and the way our customers do business. Polycom is well-placed to capitalise on these opportunities. I am looking forward to developing even stronger ties with the company's wide ecosystem of partners and propelling Polycom towards new achievements in the region."

 

Polycom has significant presence in Asia Pacific, with multiple offices in Australia, China, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and the rest of South East Asia. Research figures released in 2012 showed the company held majority market share in China and India for videoconferencing systems in the 2011-2012 financial year.

 

Alp takes over the reins from Hansjoerg Wagner, who recently retired from Polycom after serving in the role for more than six years.