Forgerock has snapped up former VMware ANZ channel boss John Donovan, as the identity management provider seeks to accelerate its Asia Pacific expansion.

Donovan has been appointed regional vice president for Australia, New Zealand and ASEAN, based in Sydney.

Donovan, who spent five years as Vmware's ANZ channel sales director, will be responsible for accelerating ForgeRock's presence across Australia and New Zealand as well as taking on support for expansion across the broader Asia region.

ForgeRock says he will be focusing on business development and revenue growth as well as reinforcing ForgeRock's position ‘at the heart of identity management'.

Mike Ellis, ForgeRock chief executive, says Donovan will play an integral role in the company's continued regional expansion, assisting clients to optimise their identity management strategies, building value relationships and ‘substantially' adding to the experience, skills base and business knowledge of ForgeRock's consultants and partners.

Donovan says the rapid proliferation of IoT devices, digital disruption and the need to support evolving models for delivering products and services through new channels such as mobile and API, mean ForgeRock is well positioned ‘to tie everything together' with its unified identity platform.

“I look forward to working with our dedicated partners to support our customers at a time when they are maturing their efforts and need identity management solutions that support their drive to innovate in the sharing economy,” he adds.

Donovan has also had senior channel management roles with companies including Novell and Symantec.

From 1999 to 2005 he was also Symantec's ANZ managing director.