Julia Carvalho.

IBM today announced the appointment of Julia Carvalho as General Manager for IBM Growth Markets, Africa.

According to a statement from the company, Carvalho will be responsible for IBM’s business operations, growing its partner ecosystem and driving client satisfaction across multiple regions in Africa.

Its statement reads: “With an increased focus on the partner ecosystem in Africa, Ms. Carvalho will lead the drive to strengthen the IBM business on the continent through a deeper level of technical expertise and industry experience to build growth for our company, clients and partners on the continent.”

“She brings to this role deep knowledge of the African continent with more than 20 years of extensive local and regional experience working in the Information Technology, Oil and Gas and Energy industries.”

Saad Toma, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Africa, added: “Julia’s extensive knowledge of technology and the African continent will bring unique value as we help our clients accelerate their digital transformations in the era of hybrid cloud, Data and AI. As a senior leader, her focus on IBM’s increased investment in our partner ecosystem will also enable our partners to play a more significant role in support of our clients’ agendas.”

Prior to this appointment, Carvalho held the position of General Manager for Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Sao Tome. She helped expand IBM’s footprint and led the digital transformation journeys of clients around our key strategic imperatives of Hybrid Cloud and AI.

Before joining IBM, Carvalho held led sales at Halliburton – Landmark Software and Services and previously served as a Professor and Researcher at the University of Lisbon.

“Africa is a continent with tremendous opportunities that is undergoing fast-paced transformation,” said Carvalho. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with clients and our ecosystem partners to build technology for Africa's unique needs.”

Carvalho holds a PhD in Engineering and Masters in Geo resources Engineering from the School of Engineering, Science and Technology (Instituto Superior Técnico) at the University of Lisbon.