Appointments of Managing Director and CTO bring more than 50 years of deep expertise to lead Rapid Circle down under

Rapid Circle today announced two key leadership appointments to accelerate its regional growth and continue the impressive trajectory the company has experienced over the past few years. George Stavrakakis joins the team as Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ), with co-founder Daniel McPherson returning to the market as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Stavrakakis brings over 20 years of experience in the technology sector, including a 19-year tenure at Microsoft. During his time as Director of the Education Sector and Public Sector for Australia at Microsoft, Stavrakakis focused on leveraging cloud technologies to improve education and public services, fostering strong partnerships with clients and stakeholders. Following his career at Microsoft, Stavrakakis served as General Manager Victoria at Cevo Australia, a company specialising in AWS solutions. There, he continued driving innovation and technology delivery. Most recently, Stavrakakis founded InnovateGPT, an AI venture studio specialising in creating and scaling generative AI start-ups and leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Services.

“These are exciting times for Rapid Circle as we scale across the region with expanded offerings and stronger expertise to help our clients innovate and extract maximum value from their Microsoft and AI investments.

I am confident that with George and Daniel’s experience, their focus on people, and their accessible and approachable leadership style, they will help deliver outstanding outcomes.”

Harold Punter
Global CEO and co-founder at Rapid Circle

“Rapid Circle is a team of talented ANZ pioneers. It is rewarding to work with individuals who are dedicated to helping clients maximise their investments in Microsoft technologies, particularly with the levels of AI investment and Copilot adoption forecast for 2025. Together, we will continue to set high standards in delivering transformative and impactful solutions for our clients,” said Stavrakakis.

In addition to Stavrakakis’s appointment, McPherson, who co-founded of the company, returns to Australia to take on the role of CTO in A/NZ. Punter said, “We believe Daniel’s deep expertise, dedication, and leadership will guide us to new heights.”

“As a co-founder of Rapid Circle, coming home from the Netherlands, I’m eager to collaborate with our peers at Microsoft to drive new outcomes for our clients. My focus will be to help organisations adopt and operationalise AI while mitigating risks and reducing costs,” said McPherson. 

With the new leadership in place, Rapid Circle is poised to accelerate its Microsoft offerings and services, driving growth and innovation for its clients across the region. The company is on an impressive growth trajectory, supported by key hires who bring extensive expertise in AI adoption and operationalisation, helping organisations extract measurable value and build competitive advantages.

Rapid Circle has continued to position itself at the forefront of AI innovation, showcasing its expertise and demonstrating the transformative potential of AI – including with the opening of its AI Centre of Excellence. These initiatives will not only highlight the capabilities of Microsoft’s technologies but also underscore Rapid Circle’s commitment to driving business transformation and delivering exceptional value to local customers.