Qualtrics hires Oracle's Michael Heitz as new ANZ boss

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Experience management software vendor Qualtrics has appointed Michael Heitz as its new managing director for Australia and New Zealand.

Heitz replaces Jason Laufer, who was in the role from January to September 2021, before moving to talent incubator firm WithYouWithMe.

Heitz is tasked to lead Qualtrics’ operations across ANZ and grow the company’s customer base across the region.

“Australia and New Zealand is one of the key markets for Qualtrics globally, and Michael’s appointment is key as we continue to scale our local operations in response to increasing customer demand,” Qualtrics Asia-Pacific and Japan managing director Brigid Archibald said.

“Michael is a world-class leader, and his expertise across industries, geographies, and the IT ecosystem will be a great asset to our customers, employees, and partners.”

Heitz was most recently Oracle head of digital cloud for ANZ and Pacific Islands, which he held from 2021 to July this year. Prior to that, he was Citrix Germany managing director and regional vice president from 2018 to 2020.

He also worked at Hitachi Data Systems (now Hitachi Vantara) from 2004 to 2016 in various leadership roles across Australia, South Korea and Germany. Other previous stints include Avaya reseller IPL and Bosch United Kingdom.

Commenting on his role, Heitz said: “Qualtrics is playing a critical role in helping some of Australia and New Zealand’s most loved brands find and keep customers, and attract, retain, and develop talent.”

“The continued growth of Qualtrics and experience management in Australia and New Zealand is testament to the value our capabilities and expertise brings to all organisations, and it’s a privilege to lead this team as we help our customers build deeper, personal relationships at scale to drive meaningful business outcomes,” he added.

Qualtrics also revealed it has seen “continued strong customer adoption” in APJ, following investments made in the region over the last year. Some of its Australian customer wins were with the Australian Taxation Office and Venues NSW.

“Organisations that stay closely aligned with the needs of their customers and employees are well-positioned for success in today’s evolving markets,” Archibald said.

“The current macro-economic environment means experience management is more relevant than ever, and in Asia Pacific and Japan, organisations across all industries are turning to Qualtrics to give them the ultimate competitive advantage and help them take action to respond to changing preferences and needs.”