Singapore – Zendesk has appointed David Hall-Johnston as Chief Technology Officer for Asia Pacific and Japan, a move that comes as enterprises across the region shift from experimenting with artificial intelligence to embedding it within business-critical service operations.
Based in Melbourne, Hall-Johnston will lead the company’s regional technology strategy.
He will work directly with customers to accelerate AI adoption, according to Zendesk, while ensuring the company’s global product and technology roadmap reflects the needs of enterprises across the region.
Hall-Johnston brings more than two decades of enterprise technology leadership to the role.
He joins Zendesk from Dell Technologies, where he served as Chief Technology Officer for Australia and New Zealand, leading the company’s technology and innovation roadmap.
His career also spans senior executive and technology positions at Hexaware Technologies, Cathay Pacific, the Australian Energy Market Operator, ANZ, and IBM.
“Asia Pacific and Japan remain central to our global growth as organisations across the region move from experimenting with AI to deploying it across business-critical service operations,” said Adrian McDermott, Chief Technology Officer, Zendesk.
“This transition requires both a clear business case and a strong technical foundation. David brings deep experience in connecting technology strategy with enterprise transformation and will play an important role in helping customers across APAC move confidently towards an autonomous service workforce,” McDermott added.
The appointment arrives amid what Zendesk describes as significant global momentum for its AI offerings, with the company reporting that AI bookings more than doubled in fiscal year 2026.
Meanwhile, organisations across APAC are increasingly looking to connect AI agents, enterprise data and human expertise in order to resolve customer and employee issues end to end, Zendesk said.
As AI becomes more deeply embedded in core operations, enterprises are also placing greater emphasis on the architecture, integration and governance required to deploy it securely and at scale, according to the company.
“The next phase of enterprise AI is about moving beyond pilots and embedding AI into core business operations,” Hall-Johnston emphasised.
“That means securely connecting AI agents to enterprise data and systems so they can take action and resolve increasingly complex work end to end. Zendesk has built a powerful platform for this transition, and I’m excited to work with leaders across APAC to help them scale an autonomous service workforce securely and responsibly,” Hall-Johnston added.
