Polycom Appoints Industry Leader Tony Simonsen As Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand (ANZ)
A senior leader with more than 20 years’ management experience, Simonsen will be responsible for accelerating Polycom’s
market growth within this key APAC region
Auckland, New Zealand– November 16, 2015 – Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM) today announced that Tony Simonsen is joining the company as Managing Director, Polycom Australia and
New Zealand (ANZ) effective November 16, 2015. In this role, Simonsen will be responsible for delivering Polycom’s
growth within ANZ, one of its largest markets within Asia Pacific. Prior to joining Polycom, Simonsen was Managing
Director at Avaya ANZ. At Polycom, Simonsen will take charge of all aspects of operational management and will report to
Geoff Thomas, President, Polycom Asia Pacific.
“Ensuring our customers achieve success and driving profitable business growth are our top priorities and Tony brings a
deep understanding of the market and industry. While Polycom is a leader within the ANZ collaboration industry, it’s
time to shift gears and accelerate the next phase of our growth plans with renewed focus on cloud, managed services and
new solutions. Having Tony join our team will provide the depth of senior leadership needed to create the required
momentum. He is a well respected executive and brings rich experience within ANZ and the wider APAC region,” said Geoff
Thomas, President, Polycom Asia Pacific.
Simonsen has more than twenty years of leadership and management experience in multiple roles across ANZ and Asia
Pacific. He boasts a strong track record from leading fast-growing, start-up and turn-around businesses, to managing
businesses with sustained bookings, revenue and EBITDA growth. Prior to Avaya, Tony was the Managing Director of Equinix
Australia & New Zealand. Before this he spent almost four years with document and shipping technology leader Pitney Bowes, where he
held two roles - A/NZ Managing Director and Enterprise Vice President for the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and
Latin America markets. Tony also served in key leadership roles with technology companies Cisco and EMC.
Thomas continues, “As one of the world’s fastest adopters of cloud, Australia and New Zealand businesses continue to
embrace productivity-enhancing collaboration solutions across diverse industries and user experiences. Tony’s depth of
ICT knowledge along with his proven leadership skills and understanding the needs of ANZ CIOs, makes him the ideal
executive to join our senior APAC leadership team at this time.”
Simonsen said “Polycom is a leader in collaboration with smart, creative solutions that address the dynamics of all
businesses, regardless of size, across Australia and New Zealand. In such a fluid environment, it is critical to focus
on the needs of our customers, building and enhancing our partner relationships and executing effectively in all we do.
I am very much looking forward to leading Polycom into a new era of providing human collaboration solutions that help
our customers expand and grow their business."
Tony is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Director’s as well as the Australian Institute of Management. He
also serves as a board member for the charity Every Little Bit Helps – a non-profit organisation founded to support
homeless adults, youth and families.
ENDS