Wily Technology, the leader in Enterprise Application Management, has announced Gerhardt Merkel has been appointed managing director of European operations.  Merkel will assume leadership of Wily's successful business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), building on the company's 85 percent year-over-year growth for the first half of 2005.

"Gerhardt's unique combination of leadership and regional knowledge will be an asset to Wily as we continue to deliver innovative solutions that meet the application management needs of our global customers," said Chris Cook,senior vice-president, worldwide field operations, Wily Technology.

Merkel brings more than 24 years of leadership experience at technology companies throughout Europe to Wily.  Previously, Merkel served as CEO of Nemetschek following his successful tenure at NEC where he served as managing director for Central and Eastern Europe and later as European president for NEC-Mitsubishi Display Systems. 

Prior to NEC, Merkel held the title of managing director at Sequent Computers for Central and Eastern Europe.  Merkel has significant knowledge of the enterprise application management market from his previous experience at Candle Software, where he was vice president of EMEA.  Merkel holds a degree in business economics from the University of Nuremburg.

"The demand for application performance management solutions in EMEA is surging, and Wily has the best technology and the best people to help European companies manage their most critical applications," said Gerhardt Merkel,managing director of European operations, Wily Technology .  "I am delighted to join Wily and look forward to building on the company's momentum in EMEA."

Wily's industry-leading Introscope solution enables companies to successfully manage the performance and integrity of critical Web applications.  With real-time visibility into critical business transactions from the browser to connected back-ends, Introscope allows IT staff to identify and eliminate potential application issues before they impact end-users or customers.