Microsoft has appointed Nick Walton as its new managing director for New Zealand with a mission to help guide the company through what is expected to be a significant chapter for AI adoption and digital transformation. The appointment comes at a pivotal time for New Zealand, as advances in artificial intelligence create new opportunities for businesses, government, and communities to improve productivity, solve complex challenges, and develop new sources of economic and social value. In a LinkedIn post, Walton said the country’s size has never limited its ambition when it comes to innovation, and that the opportunity now is to help more Kiwi organisations turn that ingenuity into tangible impact through data and AI.