AMD today sought to clear up any confusion surrounding the departure of Alex Mann, its SA representative until September.
Pierre Brunswick, regional manager for AMD`s Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) region, says Mann`s contract was ended as part of AMD`s move towards better support and single-person representation in the sub-Saharan region.
"The goal of AMD for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, not just SA, was and remains to put in place the right infrastructure and people to be able to position AMD correctly in this region," Brunswick says. "SA has a below-average market share, at just 18%, but the changes are not restricted to SA alone."
Mann was at pains to point out that he wished to leave on a high note, considering his contribution in growing the company`s share from zero to the current share.
Things will change
Brunswick says changes will happen in four areas. "We want to appoint the sort of partners that can develop AMD solutions, the people with the high-level skills and expertise to bolster AMD`s push in this market, put in place the right support structures and make testing machines available to diagnose faulty equipment.
"One can see that, contrary to possible interpretations that we are scaling down, AMD has upped its presence in SA with the high-level sales and technical teams that have recently been appointed.
The reasoning
"AMD has decided to appoint one representative for the entire region, a person with the high-level skills and expertise required to manage the entire sub-Saharan region. It was decided to end Alex Mann`s contract with AMD SA as a SA-only representative, but he was offered a position within this new structure, and it is hoped he will accept.
"He has not resigned or yet given any indication that he will accept this or not," says Brunswick. He says AMD may make an announcement about a new representative within the next month.
Brunswick adds that in terms of partnerships, AMD is speaking to Storgate Africa, a storage distributor in the MB Group, to come on board as a fourth distributor. Current distributors include the recently appointed Wavestone Computers, Sahara Computers and the computer division of Arrow Altech Distribution, recently acquired by Sahara.
Although Storgate will undoubtedly re-assess its position after Wavestone`s appointment, Brunswick says it was made aware of the appointment and denies there is any overlap. "Storgate will focus on the high-end service market and on broad-based distribution through the dealer channel. Wavestone will focus on services and support."
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