Lenovo appoints new Middle East Regional Channel Partner Manager

Djillali Lahiani, who has extensive experience in IT business development, will work closely with Lenovo's partners in the region to drive sales and build growth opportunities in Lenovo's SMB customer segment.

"Lenovo has a 100% channel oriented sales model which means our channel strategy is of the utmost importance in delivering our world-renowned products and technology to customers. We are delighted to welcome Djillali aboard to build on and drive this strategy forward,"

said Khaled Kamel, general manager, Lenovo Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan.

"Djillali will be at the helm of Lenovo's enhanced partner programme, the Lenovo Partner Network. This will drive profitability for the partners and empower them to enhance their business."

Djillali Lahiani joins Lenovo with 24 years of IT industry expertise having begun his career in France (Toulouse) in the IT distribution channel in 1984 before bringing his European channel experience to the Middle East in 2001. The Lenovo Partner Network established two classes of channel partners, member and premium, with enhanced benefits for both. It is designed to foster stronger, longer-term business relationships between Lenovo and its most active channel partners.

"The region's PC channel is a challenging opportunity, presently being worth about $2b or when talking units this equates to around 1 million units in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This figure is likely to be eclipsed as the region's emerging SMB and consumer markets are set for considerable growth." said Djillali when asked about his new appointment. "Lenovo is looking to capitilise on its strong share of the growth markets whilst bringing new and innovative channel schemes that provide an efficient and competitive route to market. We have developed the innovative dual business model to best serve customers, and by fully deploying each of these models, we can optimize our customer responsiveness and innovation across all customer segments."

Lenovo MEEP is headquartered in Dubai Internet City, covering the GCC countries, Levant, Egypt and Pakistan. The vendor has a channel network of 35 direct partners around the region. The Lenovo Group reported strong financial results for the year 2007/08, which ended March 2008. Global Lenovo PC shipments for the year jumped 21%, well ahead of the industry average growth of approximately 15%. The company reported full year sales of $16.4bn. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA), shipments increased 30 percent in the fourth fiscal quarter. For the same period, consolidated sales totaled $879m, or 24% of total sales.