Cloudian has appointed Anna Christensen as Asia Pacific and Japan head of channel and alliances, and Victoria Meldrum into Christensen’s former role of Asia Pacific and Japan head of marketing.

The appointments come as Cloudian experiences a surge in demand for its technology across the region as data demand rises and customers and partners seek shelter from tariff uncertainty.

Cloudian’s software-first approach has enabled companies to upgrade data storage capabilities on existing hardware to avoid new capital expenditures now subject to tariff-inflated prices. The company is also helping organisations source hardware from local suppliers where needed and opening its inventory of pre-configured appliances acquired before tariffs to the APJ market.

Christensen, who led Cloudian’s APJ marketing program since 2022 and brings deep experience from IT distributors NEXTGEN and Exclusive Networks, says new tariffs have introduced significant uncertainty into technology investment planning and added pressure to already-constrained IT budgets.

In the picture: Victoria Meldrum, Anna Christensen.

“Our software-defined approach has given flexibility, choice and control to our customers and partners across APJ,” she said. “Now, it’s also helping to shield them from tariff costs and uncertainty while establishing their foundation for data-centric applications, including AI workloads that will drive competitive advantage.”

Meldrum joins Cloudian from Buckner Brand Management and brings more than 20 years’ experience working with companies including Fortinet, Menulog and Canon. She aims to deepen joint marketing initiatives with Cloudian’s APJ partner base, particularly in key and growing regions like A/NZ, India, Vietnam and the Philippines.

“Cloudian’s unique partner-led model and engagement was a major drawcard for joining the company,” said Meldrum. “No one else in the market offers the same breath of technology in the increasingly important object storage space, exemplified by the company’s growing partnerships with NVIDIA and other AI leaders.”

New initiative to support A/NZ tech start-ups

 Christensen and Meldrum will also work closely with Cloudian distributor partner NEXTGEN, an Exclusive Networks Company, and join its new Connect initiative. Led by industry veteran Wendy O’Keeffe, Connect will provide growth and scalable lead generation, sales finalisation and market representation services to Australian and New Zealand partners for tech start-ups and modern cloud vendors.

“Anna and Victoria are testament to the great talent we have and are adding across our APJ business,” said Cloudian Asia Pacific & Japan managing director James Wright. “They also embody the community and channel-focused approach that is engrained in everything we do and gives back to the incredible APJ and A/NZ ICT ecosystems.”