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Softcat bolsters public sector efforts with major hire
Channel player turns to former VMware staffer to take charge of its public sector division
Softcat has indicated it will keep looking for growth on the public sector front, after recruiting a former VMware executive to cover that market.
Louise Fellows joins the channel player as public sector director, following Ant Cowen’s recent move to step into the sales director role, and she comes with a strong background working on the public side of the market.
Her most recent spell was a two-year stint as director of public sector for UK & Ireland at VMware, and before that she spent 12 years in strategic public sector roles at Telefonica and its UK telco subsidiary O2. Fellows’ CV spans 25 years working in various roles in the IT and telecoms world.
Her brief at Softcat will be to grow the team and deepen existing customer and vendor relationships, as well as bring in fresh business.
Cowen said that Fellows would bring with her a “wealth of public sector knowledge and experience that will further enhance the business moving forward”.
“Louise will be a fantastic asset to our team and will help us continue the strong sales, culture and success in public sector while bringing innovation and experience to the sales leadership team,” he added.
In response, Fellows said that Softcat already had an established public sector business and her role would be to help “develop, support and drive the future growth of the public sector division”. “Together we can evolve the business and work side by side with the public sector to develop more inclusive and informed communities right across the UK, which will help those in public services accelerate their digital transformation, master a software-defined approach to business and IT, and transform cities and places for all citizens,” she added.
Public sector
Over the course of past year, the public sector – which, like everyone, had to react to the coronavirus pandemic – turned out to be a solid market for many channel players, thanks to increased spending by health, local government and education in particular.
Back in November 2020, Softcat CEO Graeme Watt acknowledged that its performance in the public sector had contributed to its fiscal Q1 numbers, for the three months ended 31 October.
“We’ve performed well during the first quarter, seeing good results from both corporate and public sector segments,” he said.
