D-Link appoints Paul Routledge as UK country manager

D-Link has appointed industry veteran Paul Routledge as country manager, UK and Ireland. He has been with D-Link for over five years, working initially for the European business development team before taking the position of sales and marketing manager for the UK and Ireland in 2014.

That last role saw him spearhead a team that has delivered over 25 percent growth year on year, said D-Link. As country manager he will be based at D-Link’s European headquarters in Park Royal, London.

Extended responsibilities include post sales and service delivery, developing new channels to market and driving growth of D-Link’s cloud enabled smart solutions, including IP surveillance systems.

Routledge said: “I truly enjoy working closely with the channel. The UK channel is constantly evolving, and it is up to us to meet and exceed the changing needs of our channel partners. We want to bring this business unit to a point where we make a significant positive contribution to D-Link to build on our success to date.”

He said: “In terms of the channel, there will continue to be some consolidation in the market and it is up to us to deliver a real quality of service that is not just about the product but also about the team and the services in which we offer.”

He will report to Luigi Salmoiraghi, sales and marketing director for Southern Europe and UKI. Salmoiraghi said: “This is a more expansive role for Paul with a strong focus on bringing quality products to the market via D-Link’s channel partner community.

“Paul will look to capitalise on his experience and lead the UKI team in achieving further growth, while developing new business opportunities and partnerships.”

Routledge has over 20 years experience of developing channels in the UK and across Europe. Before his appointment at D-Link he held business development and channel sales management roles with vendors and distribution partners including CCI Distribution, Adaptec and Eurologic Systems.

Last year, D-Link made enhancements to its Value in Partnership+ (VIP+) programme for value added resellers, including upfront discounts and rebates, designed to allow VARs to compete in an increasingly competitive market.

@AntonySavvas

Antony Savvas

York, UK-based Antony Savvas has been a technology journalist for 25 years and has expertise in all major areas of enterprise and consumer IT. He has worked for a number of leading technology magazines and websites and his work is syndicated across the internet. He also undertakes corporate work for some of the world's leading technology companies.