Nomination for Lenovo's Premier Support Plus EMEA Services Engagement Manager Team

Lenovo is a global technology powerhouse, ranked at 196 in the Fortune Global 500, and a $69 billion revenue company that employs 77,000 people worldwide focused on delivering "smarter technology for all". Building on our success as the world's number one PC maker, Lenovo is expanding its research into growth areas to advance "New IT" technologies (client, edge, cloud, network, and intelligence).

Briefly describe the nominated team: history and past performance (up to 1,250 characters):

The Premier Support Plus EMEA SEM (Services Engagement Manager) team is a customer-focused group established in H2 2024 and a strategic pillar of Lenovo's Premier Support Plus service.

Premier Support Plus is Lenovo's flagship commercial support service, designed to boost productivity, deliver rapid resolution through Premier Support-accredited engineers, and provide OEM expertise across Lenovo devices, including next-generation AI PCs.

In its short history, the team has built a strong record of managing complex accounts, recovering at-risk partnerships, and improving customer satisfaction across EMEA. The team resolves high-impact escalations, strengthens relationships with key government and enterprise customers, and delivers proactive, value-added support, earning an Executive Director Award and a Customer Engagement Center Award for Team Excellence.

The team now manages 95 accounts across EMEA, supports 79 Quarterly Business Reviews annually, and completed 22 onboardings in 2025. Strategic partnerships with Sales and adoption of Lenovo's preventive services, including Lenovo Device Orchestration and Service Connect, enable early trend identification, reduced risk, minimized disruption, and long-term customer relationships.

Outline the team's achievements since July 1, 2023 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 1,500 characters):

The team has delivered several high-impact successes across key EMEA customers, demonstrating preventive execution, customer-first action, and partnership recovery.

Case study 1. A customer wanted to return 1,800 devices due to a complex technical issue. Through early detection and decisive SEM leadership, the team delivered a rapid recovery that restored trust at scale, earned a Team Excellence Award, prevented $2M+ in losses, and led to the purchase of 2,000+ additional PCs.

Case study 2. A customer faced service issues that put 6,000 PCs and the relationship at risk. Within a complex entitlement environment involving multiple Lenovo stakeholders, SEM and Technical Account Management (TAM) teams collaborated through focused sessions to drive internal improvements and proactively resolve issues across service levels, restoring trust and customer confidence.

Case study 3. For a customer working through an integrator, the team designed a bespoke self-troubleshooting pilot in November 2025. Tailored to specific operational needs, the solution equipped the integrator with dedicated tools and processes to resolve issues independently. This reduced reliance on Lenovo, accelerated resolution times, and strengthened trust. Governed customer-specific KPIs and regular reviews, the pilot delivered measurable improvements while preserving service quality, demonstrating innovation beyond standard support models.

Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 1,500 characters):

These achievements are significant as they demonstrate the team's ability to convert high-risk escalations - where most support organizations anticipate customer attrition- into sustained trust and growth. Once a relationship reaches formal escalation or return consideration, trust is rarely restored; yet the team prevented large-scale returns and transformed critical risk into growth, exceeding outcomes typically delivered under standard support models.

The team distinguished itself by moving beyond reactive support to governance-driven engagement. Through structured monthly reviews, consistent SEM involvement, and proactive intervention, the team created long-term stability, prevented repeat escalations, and ensured sustained customer confidence.

Another differentiator is the team's ability to drive cross-functional recovery. Coordinated effort between TAMs, SEMs, and leadership reflects operational alignment uncommon in high-pressure escalations. External awards earned during this period reinforce the strength of this execution.

Innovation was evident in the self-troubleshooting pilot. Unlike conventional self-service initiatives that shift work to customers without improving the experience, this customer-specific solution was designed for the integrator's operating model, enabling faster resolution, greater autonomy, and stronger trust.

Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 1,500 characters):

Case Study 2 Repeat Repair Rate Chart:

• The impact of this recovery was recognized with the Executive Director Award
• This chart shows that the RRR% dropped to 0% in September after joint engagement with SEM and TAM, focusing on service improvement, including tailoring our approach to troubleshooting. Customer satisfaction and service performance have improved and remained consistent since this intervention.
• Glossary: Repeat Repair Rate % (RRR) is the % of devices requiring repair within 30 days of the first repair being completed.

Case Study 3 Install Base & Repair Action Chart

• As is evident with the install base and repair action (RA)% chart, you can see that performance has remained consistent since implementing the self-troubleshooting project, whilst empowering the integrator to take direct action and improve overall customer satisfaction.
• Customer feedback: "Overall, my experience with the self-troubleshooting project has been very positive. The process has been straightforward, user-friendly, and has helped resolve issues more efficiently without needing additional support. I especially appreciate how the project empowers technicians to take quick action, saving both time and resources."

Case Study 3 Time-to-Resolution Graph

• In the Time-to-Resolution graph, you can see a marked improvement highlighted with the green line after the self-troubleshooting pilot was fully deployed, dropping from 7.82 in November to 3.78 in December, signaling a clear performance boost.