Cassandra Ashworth new CEO of Rapid Circle’s A/NZ business
Dutch-origin Microsoft cloud consultancy Rapid Circle has recruited former Wipro and DXC senior executive Cassandra Ashworth to head up its rapidly growing business down under.
Ashworth joins the Amsterdam-headquartered firm in Melbourne as A/NZ CEO after spending the past two years at Wipro, before which she held senior regional sales roles with DocuSign, DXC Technology and NextDC.
She replaces departed former managing director Stewart Bairstow, who global CEO Harold Punter credited with having built up the firm locally over the past five years, including overseeing four acquisitions during that time.
“Rapid Circle’s expansion is booming, and the demands we are seeing from customers to deliver Microsoft-based AI and cloud solutions to advance productivity and improve business outcomes meant we needed to bring in an experienced leader who excels at delivering customer solutions and business transformation in today’s current economic climate,” Punter said of the appointment.
Indeed, Ashworth brings more than two and a half decades worth of IT industry experience to her new role, most recently having served as head of enterprise application sales & services for Wipro’s Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region (covering its SAP, Salesforce, Oracle and ServiceNow practices among others), as well as a member of the Indian tech consulting giant’s A/NZ board.
Earlier roles include APJ head of ecosystem sales at DocuSign, head of global partner alliance sales at DXC Technology, and A/NZ sales leader at NextDC. In addition, Ashworth is a keen advocate for gender equality, and currently serves on the advisory board of female leadership organisation Business in Heels. Her own appointment, Rapid Circle says, raises its global leadership team to parity.
“Cassandra brings considerable technology pedigree to Rapid Circle with her deep connection to both industry, customer and Microsoft,” the firm stated. “With a reputation for building high performance teams, driving innovation among new and existing customers, and providing customer-centric solutions, her appointment will accelerate Rapid Circle ANZ into its next phase of growth.”
Microsoft accolades
Ashworth’s appointment coincides with the firm taking out yet another worldwide Microsoft partner of the year award – the firm’s fifth such accolade and eleventh consecutive year of recognition – this time in the ‘modern work’ category for its employee experience digital transformation engagements capitalising on AI via Microsoft Copilot and Viva.
“I am really excited about the Microsoft innovation and how this is accelerating our customers’ transformations,” Ashworth said. “The CIO’s I talk to all share the same challenges, meeting growing expectations of the business and addressing the risk that comes with legacy technology. What I love about Rapid Circle is that we are set up to solve our clients’ most wicked challenges.”
