ServiceNow has hired Salesforce cloud veteran Paul Smith as senior VP and general manager of EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Smith previously was Salesforce's executive VP and UK general manager.
EMEA plays a key role in ServiceNow's overall strategic growth plan. ServiceNow’s EMEA revenues grew 32 percent in 2019 compared to 2018; and the company's EMEA revenue achieved a $1 billion run-rate (approximately) as of Q1 2020, according to a statement from the software provider.
ServiceNow EMEA Growth: Partners Required
Much of ServiceNow's EMEA and global growth plan leans heavily on partners. Indeed, ServiceNow is seeking to build $1 billion revenue partnerships with multiple IT consulting firms, global systems integrators and strategic alliance partners.
The ServiceNow partnerships often start with IT service management (ITSM) projects, but deployments increasingly involve HR, finance, DevOps, security operations (SecOps) and other workflow automations.
Key ServiceNow partners across EMEA include Accenture, FlyForm and KPMG. Moreover, most -- perhaps all -- of ServiceNow's Top 10 partners have offices and customers across the EMEA region.
ServiceNow Hires Paul Smith: Executive Perspectives
In a prepared statement about the hire, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott said:
“ServiceNow is leading the workflow revolution as companies worldwide transform themselves into modern digital enterprises. The best leaders and top talent want to work for companies like ServiceNow, where they can create the future. We are thrilled to have Paul Smith join our team, serve our customers and lead our EMEA region to new heights on our journey to becoming the defining enterprise software company of the 21st century.”
Smith specifically mentioned ServiceNow's commitment to "customer and partner success" as a key motivator for joining the company. Smith succeeds Phillip van der Wilt. The company did not say what role van der Wilt will now assume.
Smith appears to report to Kevin Haverty, ServiceNow’s executive VP of worldwide sales.
