SEN Interviews Carmelo Zheng Hikvision Oceania’s New CEO About The Company’s Plans For Growth Over The Next 3 Years.
SEN Interviews Carmelo Zheng Hikvision Oceania’s New CEO – Carmelo Zheng has been appointed Hikvision CEO for Oceania in this interview Zheng speaks with SEN’s John Adams about Hikvision’s plans for growth in ANZ and beyond.
JA: Congratulations on your appointment as the new CEO of Hikvision Oceania, Carmelo. Now, you’ve been with Hikvision almost from the beginning – can you tell us a little about your journey with Hikvision and what this new role means to you?
CZ: I joined Hikvision in 2015 as a channel sales representative, where I focused on developing channel partners in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. In 2017, I established Hikvision’s New Zealand subsidiary and served as country manager, expanding and strengthening our operations in the market.
In 2022, I was appointed channel director for Hikvision Australia, working closely with our partners to grow the business together. Over the past 10 years, these experiences have enabled me to work with customers at different segments and across various industries, with diverse needs and scenarios, giving me a deep understanding of how our solutions are applied throughout the Oceania region.
For me, this new role is both a career milestone and a mission. It’s about leading Hikvision Oceania into the next stage of its growth, serving our customers with greater efficiency and accuracy, and delivering more valuable products and solutions to the market. Ultimately, my commitment is clear: to strengthen our local team, to grow together with our partners, and to deliver value and trust to our customers across Oceania.
JA: Hikvision has been in Oceania for more than 15 years. From your hands-on perspective, what are some of the biggest milestones in that journey?
CZ: We built our distribution system in 2012, set up the Australian subsidiary in 2013, and the New Zealand subsidiary in 2017. In 2022, we upgraded our offices across both countries. These milestones strengthened our local presence, helped us better understand the market, and improved the services we deliver.
JA: What excites you the most about leading the company into its next chapter?
CZ: What excites me most is the opportunity to empower our local team, deepen our partnerships, and bring even more valuable solutions to customers, like our ColorVu, Acuseek and solutions for various applications. It’s about building on our strong foundation and leading Hikvision Oceania into its next chapter with confidence and purpose.
JA: How has the ANZ market shaped Hikvision’s business strategy compared to other regions?
CZ: The ANZ market is very distinctive. Customers are engaged and put a strong focus on compliance, privacy, and long-term trust. It’s a highly channel-driven market, where distributors and integrators are key, and solutions need to be tailored for industries like education, retail, and public safety.
That’s why our strategy here emphasizes localization, compliance, and working closely with partners to deliver scenario-based solutions. This makes our approach more customer-centric and value-driven, and the lessons we’ve learned in ANZ are shaping not only our business here but also how we grow in other regions. We also have a strategy called the 3+N model, which focuses on product and technology.
JA: Could you explain what 3+N means and why it’s important for the next stage of Hikvision’s growth?
CZ: 3+N is our go-to-market strategy. The ‘3’ represents our Elite, Hikvision, and Hilook series, while the ‘N’ refers to our new business areas such as commercial display, audio, networking, and more.
Each series delivers distinct value: the Elite series focuses on innovative solutions that address today’s challenges; the Hikvision series enhances business performance through the HIK-Connect ecosystem – spanning CCTV, alarm, access control, intercom, and more – while also boosting efficiency and profitability with the HIK-Partner Pro app. Meanwhile, the Hilook series offers reliable, easy-to-use systems designed for the entry-level market segment.
3+N has given us and our partners a clearer understanding of the unique value each product series delivers to customers and shows how we can more precisely and effectively bring the right solutions to the right customers.
JA: The CCTV market is competitive – how will Hikvision strengthen its position in vertical markets like healthcare, retail and infrastructure?
CZ: Vertical markets are critical for our next stage of growth, and we also hope that through industry development we can help address specific social issues – for example, loss prevention and violence in the retail sector.
We will deepen our understanding of specific scenario needs and tailor solutions that address their unique challenges. By leveraging AI, IoT, and integrated platforms, and working closely with our partners, we aim to deliver comprehensive, scenario-based solutions.
At the same time, we will continue to strengthen our local presence and support in ANZ, so that our customers and partners have full confidence in adopting these solutions. This approach will allow us to reinforce Hikvision’s position in vertical markets and create long-term value for our customers. When it comes to this strategy, we see our people as being one of our 3 key advantages in ANZ.
JA: You highlighted that people are one of Hikvision’s 3 key advantages in ANZ. How do you plan to further empower your teams and partners?
CZ: Over the past decade, we’ve came through many challenges. In the process, our team has grown with deeper market insight, stronger professionalism, and more resilience. For our teams, we will enhance state-level localization and enablement, allowing more people to participate in decision-making at the state, and enabling more people to realize their self-value by working in roles they enjoy and excel at.
Meanwhile, we will continue to invest in training and career development, encouraging innovation, and building an open, collaborative environment where everyone feels they can contribute and grow.
For our partners, we will provide more state-level engagement and tailored support, from technical enablement to business resources. This will allow us to capture opportunities and grow the market together. Ultimately, empowering our people and partners means fostering trust, growth, and collaboration so that we can deliver even greater value to customers across ANZ.
JA: What opportunities do you see in the ANZ security and technology market over the next 3 years, do you think customer demands are changing, how is Hikvision positioning itself to meet these changes and in terms of technological innovation — AI, IoT, cloud — what role will these play in Hikvision’s roadmap?
CZ: On one hand, we see growing demand for AI-enabled and integrated solutions, particularly in retail, public safety, and education. At the same time, there is a clear gap in the SME and mid-tier market, where customers are looking for reliable yet easy-to-use systems. On the other hand, as security technologies advance alongside broader societal developments, new scenario-based application needs will continue to emerge.
To address these evolving demands, Hikvision is executing its 3+N strategy — delivering differentiated product series while investing in AI, IoT, and cloud platforms to provide scenario-driven solutions.
In parallel, we are reinforcing compliance, local support, and partner enablement. In this way, Hikvision positions itself not only as a technology provider, but as a trusted partner committed to creating long-term value for our customers.
JA: If you could send one message to Hikvision’s partners and customers in Oceania right now, what would it be?
CZ: Thank you for standing with us throughout this journey. As we move into the next stage, we will continue to strengthen our local presence and keep innovating with AI, IoT, and integrated solutions that address real market needs. We will also take the lessons from past challenges as stepping stones toward greater success together. Hikvision is committed not only to technology, but also to partnership, trust, and long-term growth in Oceania.
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“SEN Interviews Carmelo Zheng Hikvision Oceania’s New CEO About The Company’s Plans For Growth Over The Next 3 Years.”
