Business Objects provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, announced that it has named Keith Budge to the position of senior vice president and general manager of its Asia Pacific region.

In this role, Budge will manage operations in Asia Pacific, China, and Japan, focusing on revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and employee development. Based out of Singapore, Budge will serve as a member of the company's executive committee and report directly to John Schwarz, CEO of Business Objects.

Budge brings more than 20 years of management experience to the position, including a strong track record of growing business operations in the Asia Pacific region. Budge joins Business Objects from Oracle Corporation, where he served as senior vice president of Asia Pacific. In that role, Budge was responsible for country management, business development, customer care, corporate governance, sales operations, and government relations.

During his time at Oracle, Budge held several key positions in the organization, including managing director of Oracle Vietnam, managing director of Oracle Singapore, and regional managing director for South Asia. Prior to Oracle, Budge spent eight years with Australia's Telstra Corporation in business development, sales, and marketing management positions.

"The Asia Pacific region is an important area of focus for our organization as we grow our business," said John Schwarz, CEO of Business Objects. "Keith Budge's strong leadership skills and success with fast growing organizations will play an important role in helping us achieve our goal of increasing the adoption of business intelligence solutions in this region. Business Objects continues to attract top talent to its transnational executive management team, and I look forward to Keith's input as we build Business Objects into one of the world's ten largest software companies."

"I am very excited to be joining Business Objects to lead the Asia Pacific, China, and Japan business operations," said Keith Budge. "Business Objects has strong momentum and a solid reputation in the Asia Pacific region, and I look forward to working with the employees and partners in this region to help our customers take advantage of the company's industry-leading business intelligence software."

Budge takes over from Pat Wynne, who has served as vice president and general manager of the Asia Pacific region since August, 2005. Wynne, who was filling the role on an interim basis, will remain in the region through the middle of the year to ensure a smooth transition, before taking on new global assignments for the company.