The 36-year-old regional integrator has hired a 30-year enterprise services veteran to lead its push into AI adoption and infrastructure modernisation across the GCC.
Gulf Business Machines has appointed Pieter Willem Bil as chief executive officer, the company announced on 8 September. Bil joins from Kyndryl, where he was Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa.
He takes over a business with more than 36 years of regional history, seven offices and over 1,500 staff, and a portfolio covering digital infrastructure, hybrid cloud, cybersecurity, digital business solutions and managed services. GBM is the sole IBM distributor across the GCC excluding Saudi Arabia and selected IBM products and services, and holds Gold Partner status with Cisco and Pinnacle Solutions Provider status with VMware by Broadcom.
Bil’s remit covers strategic growth across regional markets, with the company positioning his appointment around enterprise and public sector AI adoption, resilient digital infrastructure and large-scale technology transformation programmes. He brings more than 30 years of executive leadership across Fortune 500 enterprises and government entities, with prior experience in AI integration initiatives and complex multi-vendor environments.
Marwan Faraj Bin Hamoodah, GBM Chairman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pieter Bil to GBM as our new Chief Executive Officer. As the digital landscape evolves and resilient technological advancement becomes increasingly critical to business continuity across the region, Pieter’s exceptional leadership and strategic foresight will be invaluable.”
The appointment comes as regional integrators compete for a share of national digital agendas that are increasingly weighted towards sovereign AI infrastructure and in-country data residency, a shift that favours partners with established local delivery capacity over pure-play global consultancies.
Bil said: “I am honoured to join GBM at such a pivotal moment in the region’s technology evolution. My focus will be on continuing to deliver the robust, secure, and intelligent infrastructure required to fuel the next chapter of digital economic growth in the region.”
