SAS appoints Neena Gill as VP of Corporate Affairs for Europe and Asia Pacific

New position will drive SAS® analytics into governments seeking to transform their IT infrastructure 

12 October 2010 -  To encourage global public sector organisations to better capitalise on their most valuable asset – their data – SAS, the leader in business analytics software and services, has appointed Neena Gill as the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for the European and Asia Pacific regions. In this role, Gill will help the national governments in these regions identify innovative ways to transform their IT systems with SAS Business Analytics.

Gill joins SAS after spending the past 10 years as a member of the European Parliament. She was the UK’s first female Asian MEP to hold this position and was elected to represent the West Midlands region of England. During her tenure she spent three years as the President of the European Parliament delegation for relations with India, five years as the President of the South Asia delegation and two years as a member of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). While in the European Parliament, Gill steered legislation activities that focused on information technologies and was an active member of the Budget, Legal and Industry committees.  She will report directly to Mikael Hagström, Executive Vice President for SAS Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, and will initially spend the majority of her time in New Delhi, India. Prior to becoming a member of the European Parliament, she served as a chief executive in public housing for 13 years. Gill maintains a strong interest in public policy issues.

“Innovative information and communication technology programs, and analytic applications in particular, are more critical than ever to enable governments across the world to achieve ambitious targets ranging from employment to the Millennium Development Goals outlined by the UN,” said Hagström. “For example, India is focused on revamping its technology infrastructure so that it can improve the quality of life for its citizens. Part of this transformation will require better managing, analysing and reporting on the vast amounts of valuable data that will help drive strategies and key programs for fostering technological innovation and collaboration throughout the country. As VP of Corporate Affairs, Neena will have an integral role in positioning SAS within this transformation to help global governments understand how to use business analytics as a competitive differentiator.”  

“With the current challenges of the global economy, I am excited to promote the value SAS can bring to the public sector," Gill said. “In my role, I will help national government agencies in Europe and Asia Pacific understand how analytics can enable them to not only participate, but in some cases pioneer, social transformation initiatives for the new digital age.  I look forward to applying my knowledge of European public policy and my passion for key issues such as healthcare, education and the environment to support public sector groups ready for change.”

Ian Manocha, Managing Director of SAS UK and Ireland said:” Analytics is a strategic area of investment for the UK public sector. Analytics can play a powerful role in addressing today’s government priorities such as: reducing fraud and waste, optimising the delivery of core services such as health, education and policing, and implementing a fair, effective and sustainable welfare system. SAS analytics is already helping major government departments such as The National Health Service, Department of Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to make better and faster strategic decisions. SAS also helps improve decisions making at the local level for organisations such as London Fire Brigade and Croydon’s Drug & Alcohol Action Team. Neena’s rich experience will bring significant value to our fast growing government business.”

About SAS

For further information, please contact the team at the SAS press office on:
Tel: +44 (0) 1628 490490
e-mail saspressoffice@suk.sas.com
For more information on SAS, please visit www.sas.com/uk

Copyright © SAS Institute Inc. All Rights Reserved.