Lappin led the company to become the PC sales leader in Japan and facilitated the launch of the consumer business in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Currently based in Japan, he intends to stay in Tokyo where he will run the Asia-Pacific business and will remain the president of NEC Lenovo Japan Group. He will continue to lead the Japan and ANZ business and will report to Gianfranco Lanci, Lenovo’s chief operating officer and executive senior vice president.
“Rod has a wealth of experience in creating successful businesses in mature and emerging markets, making him the best person to head up the new Asia-Pacific business for Lenovo,” said Lanci. “With Rod at the helm, I am confident the business across Asia-Pacific will continue to thrive and will experience a whole new level of success, just like NEC Lenovo Japan Group in Japan over the last three years under his strong leadership.”
With the consolidated Asia-Pacific business, Lenovo will have the scale and efficiency to operate more effectively in this highly-competitive and dynamic market. Lenovo’s recent launch of smartphones and other consumer devices in the region shows the company is poised to make Asia-Pacific a growth engine in the enterprise and consumer technology market.
“Asia-Pacific presents Lenovo with a swathe of opportunities and is critical for our continued success as the global leader in PCs, and I’m excited to be taking over a new amalgamated team brimming with talented people, many of whom I have worked with personally,” Lappin said. “I have set my sights to not only continue Lenovo’s momentum in the PC market, but to elevate our positions in other key categories including mobile and other consumer computing devices across Asia-Pacific. I know for certain that together, with my new team, we can make this happen.”
Lappin has been with Lenovo for the past eight years and has been based in Japan since 2008. Originally from Australia, he holds a degree from Macquarie University’s Graduate School of Business.
Lappin is GM of Asia Pacific Mature Market (APMM – comprising of Japan, Australia and New Zealand) and VP of Lenovo Group. He joined Lenovo Singapore in February 2007 as VP of Relationship Business for the Asia Pacific Region that included Japan. Since his appointment as president of Lenovo Japan on October 1, 2008, he led the Japan business. Adding to his role as president of Lenovo Japan, he assumed the role of president of NEC Lenovo Japan Group, a joint venture with NEC Corp, where its market share climbed 29.1%.
Lappin’s role expanded to include ANZ when the company divided the Asia Pacific region into emerging and mature markets in April 2014. In ANZ, he oversaw the recent successful launch of the region’s consumer retail business, achieving a consumer notebook PC market share from 0% to 8.9% in just three months.
