98 | theceomagazine.com
NOT
a product.”
NOT
“It’s
just
Appal Chintapalli helped bring the integrated
rack systems line of business at Vertiv to life –
now he’s pulling out all the stops for customer
needs amid an ever-changing IT landscape.WORDS SHARON MASIGE • IMAGES VERTIVA
ppal Chintapalli became Vice-President and General Manager of
integrated rack systems at Vertiv EMEA nearly three years ago, and
during this short time, he has managed to transform the business.
After obtaining a master’s in Chemical Engineering, Appal’s career
began with a start-up company in Silicon Valley before he moved on
to become a software sales specialist at IBM. There, he learned a lot
about the sales profession and customer management, and was inspired to attend
Harvard Business School.
With increased business knowledge under his belt, Appal joined automation
solutions company Emerson, where he could “be closer to the engineering field but
also work in management”. The role was perfect for what would come, for as Appal
tells The CEO Magazine, he “spent a lot of time on customer research;
understanding what they want from products and how they make decisions”.
After almost seven years and several roles within the company, Appal became
Vice-President Marketing EMEA at Emerson Network Power at a time when the
company was integrating a number of acquisitions, including IT rack solutions
specialist Knürr. When Emerson Network Power was spun off as Vertiv, »INNOVATE | Interview