Global supercomputer leader Cray Inc. announced that it has hired Ulla Thiel as director of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Before joining Cray, Thiel was IBM's director of Scientific and Technical Computing Sales EMEA. In her new position, Thiel will be responsible for continuing Cray's resurgence in Europe, where the company had notable wins in 2003. She will lead Cray's EMEA sales strategy, expand opportunities for current and future Cray products, collaborate closely with customers and continually enhance the capabilities of Cray's European sales force. Thiel will report to Peter Ungaro, Cray's vice president of worldwide sales and marketing. "Ulla will lead the effort to strengthen Cray's presence in the European market and our European sales operations," said Cray CEO and President James E. Rottsolk. "Her broad base of experience and relationships make her a strong addition to the Cray team." "The European marketplace is very strategic in the world of supercomputing," Ungaro said. "Ulla's experience and talent will prove important to Cray's success not only in Europe, but also worldwide. She and I have a long history of working together within the high-performance computing marketplace, and I am personally and professionally thrilled to be working closely with her once again at Cray." Thiel replaces Andreas Kerl in the EMEA sales role. He will head Cray's new Worldwide HPC Services organization while continuing to serve as director of operations for EMEA. Thiel held increasingly responsible management positions at IBM since joining that company in 1989, including roles in HPC marketing, sales, and sales support. She was named IBM director of Scientific and Technical Computing Sales EMEA in 2000. She holds a doctorate in mathematics from Saarbruecken University (Germany), also studied at the University of Edinburgh (UK), and has held research positions at the University of Heidelberg, the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain).