Microsoft has announced the appointment of John Bessey as the new managing director of its Philippine subsidiary.  Bessey will officially take on his new role on October 1^st2009.

Bessey will be taking over from Rafael “Pepeng” Rollan who has been Microsoft Philippines’ managing director since 2007.  Under Rollan’s leadership, the local subsidiary experienced consistent growth and saw the expansion of its citizenship initiatives aimed at enabling underserved communities to get access to technology, as well as the implementation of projects dedicated to enhancing local education.

“I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to lead a very strong and dedicated team in the Philippines,” said Bessey.  “At the same time, I am excited at the prospect of further exploring opportunities where our customers, partners and the country can benefit from technology.  Over the years, we have seen how technology can impact people’s lives and we will continue our initiatives in empowering the underserved sectors and helping improve the Philippines’ IT infrastructure.”

With a career spanning some 20 years in the IT industry, Bessey joined Microsoft New Zealand in 2006 as partner director for small and medium-sized businesses.  As part of the leadership team, Bessey was instrumental in making New Zealand a successful Microsoft subsidiary.

Prior to Microsoft John spent more than 10 years at Gen-i, one of Microsoft’s largest partners in New Zealand, working in both New Zealand and Australia. John was involved in running every part of the large systems integrator, giving him deep insights into how Microsoft can really connect and add value to our partner business.

John has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Auckland University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business (Marketing) from the Auckland University Business School.

Ken Wye Saw, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Microsoft Asia-Pacific said: “John possesses the skills and capabilities needed to take the company to greater heights.  With his passion and dedication, I am optimistic John will significantly contribute to the growth of our business in the Philippines and lead in delivering our mission of empowering people and businesses all over the world to realize their full potential through technology.”