Lorna Hardie has been appointed as the new Hewlett-Packard (HP) software country manager for South Africa with immediate effect.

According to a statement from the information technology company, Hardie's new role includes working closely with the extended pre-sales, sales and respective software team.

She is also expected to drive the South African software business forward, and provide HP customers with the best possible experience across products, sales, and support.

“I am very excited and proud to be taking on this new challenge within HP. I am looking forward to working with such a great team, supported by the strength of the greater HP,” said Hardie of her appointment.

Hardie's work experience includes managing the imaging and printing division for English Africa, and channel for southern Africa.

She has also served as HP networking country manager for South Africa and global account executive responsible for Nedbank and MTN South Africa. Prior to her current role, Hardie served as enterprise security product sales manager for SA and Africa.

“Lorna has been with HP for 13 years and is still determined to bring in new ideas and innovations to the business. She is an invaluable asset to our team and I know she will help to drive future growth for HP Software in South Africa,” says Frank van Rees, managing director, HP South Africa.

He added, “Her extensive experience in enterprise business, networking, security and channel management makes her an excellent fit for this role.”