Lenovo sets top-three goal for EMEA

Consumer and SMB key to expansion plans of new EMEA boss Gianfranco Lanci

Gianfranco Lanci has vowed to transform Lenovo into a top-three PC player in EMEA by next year after taking the reins of the firm's new EMEA organisation.

The former Acer chief executive (pictured below) joined Lenovo as a consultant in September – in the process incurring the wrath of his former employer's legal eagles – and today takes up his role as senior vice president of Lenovo EMEA.

Lenovo has outgrown the wider PC market for 11 consecutive quarters, propelling it into the number-two slot worldwide behind HP.

But it remains relatively underweight in Europe due to its lack of clout in the consumer and SMB market. According to Gartner it currently trails HP, Acer, Asus and Dell in the pecking order in western Europe, with 8.7 per cent market share. In the UK, it is not even in the top five.

Lanci said the goal is to "dramatically expand" its consumer and SMB presence across the region. A 10 per cent share in Europe's top 10 countries is the objective.

"We are already strong in Russia and Germany in the consumer sector and our strategy for this year is to roll out IDEA consumer products to many more countries across EMEA," Lanci said.

Lenovo chief executive Yuanqing Yang argued that Lanci is the right man to help the firm win out in the "PC-plus" age.

"In this new era we must not only continue to win in commercial spaces, but also expand our global consumer presence in PCs and other personal technology devices," he said.

"Gianfranco Lanci brings great experience, leadership and expertise to Lenovo in exactly these areas."

Lanci's appointment follows Lenovo's reorganisation into four new geographies: EMEA, APLA (Asia-Pacific/Latin America), China and north America.