SAS appoints new Brazil head

Analytics software company SAS has promoted its former head of commercial as president for the Brazilian subsidiary.

As part of a transitional period, Cássio Pantaleoni will be working alongside Conrado Leister - who had been acting as president for both Brazil as well as Latin America and the Caribbean - until the end of the year.

According to SAS, the decision to split Leister's role is the result of the positive performance it has seen over the last few quarters in Brazil - despite the economic and political instability it has undergone of late, the country is still one of the company's top five global markets.

A key area of focus for Pantaleoni over the coming months will be to cater for the needs of local customers and intensify the direct contact with them, while meeting the expectations of continued growth from the head office.

Chief revenue officer at SAS, Carl Farrell, told ZDNet earlier this year that the company plans to accelerate the growth of its geographic presence in Brazil, while presenting its offerings to buyers in a more economically attractive manner to tackle increasing local competition.

"Brazil has been one of the fastest-growing parts of the organization and I've put a lot of money over the last 8 or 9 years working here, and we will continue to do so as the opportunities are huge," Farrell told ZDNet at the time.

Data management and customer intelligence, along with forecasting work and "general" analytics have been the best sellers for SAS in Brazil so far, with risk and fraud offerings gathering pace in terms of sales.