Las Vegas shut down the book on this one weeks ago, and now there is confirmation that Avnet has named William (“Bill”) J. Amelio as its new Chief Executive Officer. The appointment is effective immediately.
Amelio has been acting in the role of interim CEO of Avnet since July 11, 2016 following the departure of Rick Hamada.
In a recent conference call Amelio made clear he had thrown his hat into the ring and that he was “hopeful for good news”.
He has plenty on his plate. Besides reviving Avnet’s financial fortunes – 2016 sales dipped 6% year on year – he will oversee the acquisition of Premier Farnell and more pertinently set the strategy post acquisition.
He brings plenty of heft to the role having spent most of his career in senior roles managing global technology enterprises and publicly traded companies. He brings more than 35 years of management and industry experience to Avnet, which includes stints as a Senior Vice President at Dell, President and CEO of Lenovo. He was also a board member at National Semiconductor.
Avnet likes to promote from within the company. Rick Hamada, a long term Avnet veteran followed Roy Vallee, another Avnet veteran into the CEO job. Vallee had taken over from Leon Machiz in 1998.
William Schumann, Chairman of the Board said “Avnet is fortunate to have someone of Bill’s character and experience. He brings energy and focus to the business, and the board unanimously agreed that making him the permanent CEO was in the best interest of our customers, employees and shareholders.”
Amelio responded, “For me, Avnet is all about passion and possibilities. We have an experienced management team and an engaged workforce comprised of talented employees who are dedicated to serving our customers, suppliers and partners. By better aligning these resources with our competitive solutions specialist, embedded and supply chain strengths, Avnet will undoubtedly be positioned to achieve profitable growth for our shareholders and deliver upon the ever growing market potential in our industry.”
He has plenty on his plate. Besides reviving Avnet’s financial fortunes – 2016 sales dipped 6% year on year – he will oversee the acquisition of Premier Farnell and more pertinently set the strategy post acquisition.
Comments are closed.