Pure Storage has appointed a new head of EMEA and channel in the form of Matthieu Brignone, who brings with him more than 20 years of industry expertise.
Brignone joins the firm, which only sells through the channel, from Commvault where he was country manager for France. Prior to that he held roles at Cisco, HP and Trend Micro among others.
In his new role, Brignone will be charged with increasing sales participation and growth as well as ensuring greater partner profitability. A key focus will be building on the strong momentum the firm has gained in EMEA in the last year, according to Brignone, who said “It is a very exciting time to be joining the Pure team.”
"One of the reasons I joined Pure was the ability to be different. I was interested in the mindset … We can be disruptive, in products, [go-to-market and more]," he said during a press session.
Brignone will report to Michael Sotnick, vice president of partners, services, and business development at Pure Storage, who sang his praises when commenting on the appointment.
"Matthieu brings considerable leadership experience to this position and I am looking forward to working with him as we continue to grow our partner relationships in the region," he said.
"EMEA is an important market for Pure Storage, so our channel chief has a crucial role in developing and nurturing partners as part of the Pure family."
Brignone joined the company four weeks ago and has spent the majority of his time thus far meeting various key stakeholders so he can digest feedback before making any changes. "I am very lucky, I have a good team," he added in response to a comment about the art of leadership involving the ability to surround yourself with good people and those with complementary skills.
James Petter, Pure Storage’s vice president of EMEA, added: “Being a 100% channel-focused company, partners are critical to our success. It was therefore crucial that we found the right leader for this role. Matthieu’s experience in both international sales and partner leadership roles as well as most recently a country manager, made him an obvious choice to lead our team into another ambitious and transformative year.”
