Akamai appoints Sean Li as SVP regional sales & managing director, Asia Pacific and Japan

• Brings over a decade of experience at Akamai, most recently leading Greater China
• Will lead growth across APJ, focusing on customer engagement & scaling cloud, security & AI

Akamai Technologies has appointed Sean Li (pic) as senior vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), promoting a long-time executive to lead one of its fastest-growing regions.

Li succeeds Parimal Pandya, who has moved into a global role leading sales strategy for Akamai’s cloud business.

In his new role, Li will oversee regional growth across APJ, focusing on customer engagement and helping organisations scale cloud, security and AI capabilities across diverse markets.

Asia Pacific remains a key growth region for Akamai, characterised by a mix of mature and rapidly digitising economies with varying requirements around infrastructure, security and data regulation. The company said this complexity is driving demand for more localised approaches to deploying cloud and AI solutions.

Akamai has operated in Asia Pacific since 2003 and now serves more than 2,000 customers across sectors including banking, gaming, commerce, media, manufacturing and critical infrastructure, supported by a network of 150 partners.

Li brings more than a decade of leadership experience at Akamai. He most recently served as vice president and managing director for Greater China, where he helped grow the business into one of the company’s largest markets outside the United States.

“Asia Pacific represents a significant opportunity for enterprises to leverage AI to drive efficiency and growth, but success depends on adapting to different markets, infrastructures and regulatory environments,” Li said.

Addressing the appointment, Paul Joseph, executive vice president, Global Sales and Services at Akamai, said: “Asia Pacific continues to be a region of significant opportunity for Akamai, and Sean brings the leadership, technical depth and customer centricity needed to lead the business into its next chapter. His track record of driving growth, building strong teams and aligning innovation with customer needs positions him well to further strengthen Akamai’s presence across the region.”