Lenovo's new UK boss plots SMB push

David Blackmore handed UK country general manager role at PC vendor

Lenovo's new UK boss has set his sights on replicating the PC vendor's success in the Far East over here.

David Blackmore was handed the role of UK country general manager at Lenovo on April 1, replacing Ken Batty who will return to his role as the firm's human resources executive director for Western Europe.

Blackmore joined Lenovo during its buyout of IBM's PC division in 2005, and was appointed as the executive director for the firm's Western Europe accounts, a role he will retain.

Speaking to ChannelWeb, Blackmore said his main goal was to help Lenovo ramp up its coverage within the consumer, SMB and small-office home-office (SoHo) markets.

"The SMB and SoHo markets are a big opportunity for Lenovo and in every country outside of China are areas that we are not a major player in," he explained.

"In the UK, you will see us attack the consumer, SMB and SoHo markets as it represents a great growth opportunity for us."

The vendor will be relying on a mix of new products and its channel partners to gain ground in these areas, he added.

"Our product portfolio will continue to evolve and, as for our route to markets, we have not been significantly present in retail and at some point we will need to make that step," explained Blackmore.

"We have seen some very good growth in the SMB market via the channel and we will continue down this path as the channel remains a key part of our strategy for growth. Not just in the SMB but in the commercial markets too."