Insight's de Sousa opens up on the hunt for her UK successor

Insight UK’s MD tells CRN about recruiting her successor and taking over the top European role

Insight's Emma de Sousa is on the hunt for her successor after securing the top European Job, the current UK boss has told CRN.

Finding a successor to take over Insight's managing director role for the UK is a "key focus" for incumbent Emma de Sousa,

Insight announced last month that de Sousa had been tapped to become its new president of EMEA from 1 January 2021, taking over from the current holder Wolfgang Ebermann.

De Sousa told CRN that she is also seeking a candidate to step into her shoes as SVP of marketing for the UK and EMEA, adding that she is looking to recruit internally.

"One of my key focuses right now is to appoint my successor for the UK business and also my successor to run marketing across EMEA, and we are currently going through the process to identify the best candidate for each role," she said.

"It's always my preference - and the preference across the organisation globally - to recruit from within.

"If I reflect on my own career with Insight, it's a really great example of how the company develops and promotes internally so my preference would be to recruit from within for both positions."

De Sousa still has nine months before she takes over the reins as head of EMEA and said she has plans to build on her predecessor's work, but is using her time now to understand the countries in the region.

"It's early stages yet, and my focus right now is to be in learning mode and the handover from Wolfgang," she added.

"It's important for me to spend time with the general managers of the other countries to really understand those geographies and what the market opportunities look like so that, collectively, we can make sure we've got the right plans in place to deliver the results and the outcomes that we're looking for."

Stay tuned to ChannelWeb for our full interview with de Sousa