Roy Vallee Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Avnet, Inc.
Board of Directors Member Since 1991
Thirty-six years ago Roy Vallee was stocking shelves at an electronics distribution company in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter he was promoted to the shipping dock and eventually established a sales office for the company in San Diego.
Today he heads one of the world's largest companies, Avnet, with revenue exceeding US$15.68 billion.
Mr. Vallee's leadership ability and sales skills served him well when he joined Hamilton/Avnet as a field sales representative in 1977. Through subsequent promotions he held positions such as systems business manager, general sales manager, general manager, regional director and vice president.
In 1989 Mr. Vallee was appointed president of Hamilton/Avnet Computer, and in 1990 was named senior vice president and director of Worldwide Electronics Operations for Avnet.
He was elected to Avnet's board of directors in November 1991, and in March 1992 was appointed president and chief operating officer. In July 1998, Mr. Vallee was named chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Avnet, Inc.
The groundwork for Avnet's future as an international company had begun in 1991 with the acquisition of U.K-based The Access Group, a semiconductor distributor. In quick succession 21 more important strategic companies had been acquired in Europe, South Africa, Asia and the United States.
When Mr. Vallee assumed the chairman and chief executive role, he continued on the acquisition path and from 1998 to 2007 Avnet added 24 more companies to increase its geographic coverage, size and scope, and add on new suppliers and customers.
Mr. Vallee also introduced value-based management to Avnet in 2002. Employees have embraced the concepts of return on capital employed greater than the weighted average cost of capital and operational return on working capital and have contributed to considerable cost savings and process improvements in the last few years.
Active in the community and in various roles outside of Avnet, he is a longstanding member of the Center for Corporate Innovation and is co-chair of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano's Council on Innovation & Technology. Mr. Vallee is also a member of the boards of directors of two outside companies: Teradyne (NYSE:TER), an automated testing company for the electronics, communications and software industries and Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), a supplier of electronic design automation software.
In May 2007 Mr. Vallee was inducted into the CRN Industry Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have transformed the technology industry with new ideas, revolutionary concepts and ingenious technology. According to CRN, "the Industry Hall of Fame allows us to pay tribute to the industry's pioneers, visionaries, entrepreneurs and evangelists. Through their ideas, drive, and perseverance, these individuals have revolutionized the computer industry."
Some of his thoughts are included in the book entitled, Leadership Secrets of the World's Most Successful CEOs, by Eric Yaverbaum (Dearborn Trade Publishing, Chicago, Ill.).
As a member of Avnet's board of directors, Vallee chairs the Executive Committee.
According to those who know and work with him, Roy Vallee exhibits the best leadership qualities - with a particular emphasis on communications skills - and is a positive role model for future business leaders.
Jeff Bawol President, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas
Jeff Bawol was promoted to president of Avnet Technology Solutions Americas in May 2008. He reports to TS Global President John Paget.
Mr. Bawol has almost 30 years experience at Avnet, 10 with Avnet Technology Solutions and 19 with Avnet Electronics Marketing. In 2003, he was tapped to lead the Enterprise Software and Storage Solutions group (ESS) for Avnet Technology Solutions Americas as senior vice president and general manager. Under his leadership, ESS experienced a 42 percent CAGR over three years and expanded its linecard significantly. Prior to that role, Mr. Bawol served as vice president and general manager of the Avnet Hall-Mark (renamed Avnet Partner Solutions) Intel Architecture/Compaq Business Unit, a position he assumed in 2000.
Mr. Bawol began his career with Avnet in 1977 as a customer service representative with Hamilton Avnet Electronics. He served in a variety of positions, including inside sales, field sales, general manager, area vice president and regional vice president. With Avnet's purchase of Hall-Mark Electronics in 1993, Mr. Bawol became vice president of the South Central area for the combined Hamilton Hall-Mark business. In 1996, he joined the Tandy Corp. as vice president of sales, running their Commercial Sales Group. He returned to Avnet Computer Marketing in 1998 as vice president of sales for what was then Hall-Mark Integrated Solutions.
David Birk Senior Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary
David Birk has been Avnet's Chief Legal Officer since 1989 and heads the company's global legal team. He reports to Chairman & CEO Roy Vallee and is a member of the Avnet Executive Board. He was the principal architect of Avnet's Shared Services approach for leveraging scale and scope for internal support services. From 2003 to 2005 he lived in Belgium and worked from Avnet's European regional headquarters, where he introduced shared services principles and processes to Avnet's European organizations.
He was named a corporate senior vice president in November 1992 and corporate secretary in July 1997.
In June 2007, Mr Birk was elected to the board of directors of UAP Holding Corp., Greeley, Colo., which distributes agricultural and non-crop inputs to the U.S. and Canada.
Prior to joining Avnet in 1980, Mr. Birk was a partner in the law firm of Burstein & Marcus in White Plains, New York, and an associate attorney in the firm of Jacobs Persinger & Parker in New York City.
Mr. Birk holds a B.A. degree from the University of Florida and a law degree from Cornell Law School.
Bob Brown Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Director of Corporate Audit
Bob Brown joined Avnet in 1999 as vice president, director of corporate audit. Reporting to Raymond Sadowski, senior vice president and chief financial officer, Mr. Brown has global audit responsibility for groups based in Phoenix, Brussels and Singapore. He was named a corporate officer in 2000.
Lauded for creating a well-respected, highly professional and productive team in a very short period of time, Mr. Brown received the Avnet Chairman's Award for the Corporate Services Group in 2000. The innumerable requests for assistance the department receives is testament to the reputation Mr. Brown has built with his talented team, and demonstrates the value the corporate audit department brings the company.
Mr. Brown was employed by Arthur Andersen for 17 years in New York City and served as a partner in its internal auditing group, where he counseled a number of U.S. and multinational companies across several industries.
He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Lehigh University, is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the New York State Society of CPAs, the American Institute of CPAs and the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Last updated: 10/15/2003
Steve Church Senior Vice President, Avnet, Inc; Chief Human Resources Development Officer
Steve Church is responsible for human resources & organizational development and corporate communications. He also serves as the executive sponsor for the Avnet Services Council, which shares best practices in the development and execution of fee-based services. Mr. Church reports to Roy Vallee, chairman and chief executive officer. He is a corporate officer/senior vice president and serves on the Avnet Executive Board.
Mr. Church was formerly president of Avnet Electronics Marketing/Americas and co-president of Avnet Electronics Marketing/Global. Earlier in his career he held positions within Avnet such as vice president/Southwest area director for Hamilton Hallmark and vice president of corporate marketing for Hamilton Hallmark.
Before joining Avnet in 1991, Mr. Church was employed for 12 years by Signetics (now Philips Semiconductor) where he served as Western area manager and director of distribution. Prior to Signetics, Mr. Church was employed by Schweber Electronics, where he served as general manager for the Southern California division of the company.
Mr. Church serves on the boards of advisors for Texas A&M University's Industrial Distribution Program; Arizona State University's Center for Services Leadership at the W.P. Carey School of Business, and the School of Business and Global Studies at the University of La Verne. He was honored in December 2003 by the Professional Association for Industrial Distributors for his outstanding support and dedication to the industrial distribution program at Texas A & M University.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Cal Poly Pomona. His interests include skiing, running, tennis, golf and reading.
John Clark Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Director of Credit
Avnet, Inc. Director of Credit John Clark reports to Chief Financial Officer Raymond Sadowski and has dotted line responsibility to the operating group financial officers of Avnet Electronics Marketing and Avnet Technology Solutions.
Mr. Clark joined Avnet in November of 1983 as assistant controller responsible for general accounting at the company's Culver City, California, location. For the next several years Mr. Clark held various positions such as customer contracts manager and manager of budget and sales administration. He later became the operations manager for the Chatsworth, California, sales office and subsequently was promoted to operations manager for the Southwest area. He then became the district sales manager for Avnet's dedicated Hughes Aircraft sales and support team. After that, he was named director of the kitting operation.
Subsequently, Mr. Clark was asked to run the corporate administration organization for Avnet Electronics Marketing (EM). He then moved to the new Avnet Computer Marketing Group as vice president and director of operations, to manage all non-sales functions. In 1992, Mr. Clark was appointed to head up the Total Quality Management efforts for Avnet EM.
Mr. Clark's functions were then migrated into an organization called Administrative Operations, where he took on the additional responsibilities of corporate account manager, travel, real estate, customer contracts, non-inventory purchasing and the telesales program. During this time he chaired the Quality Council and the Information Services Division User Committee.
In 1995, Avnet was awarded a site visit on its quest to win the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, as a direct result of Mr. Clark's involvement in spearheading the internal program that won this recognition.
In August 1996, Mr. Clark moved Administrative Operations to its new home in Arizona, and welcomed finance and human resources under its umbrella.
He served in this role, under several different titles, until rejoining Avnet Computer Marketing (now Avnet Technology Solutions) in July 1997 as group financial officer, with responsibility for administration, credit and finance.
In July 2003, Mr. Clark was given responsibility for consolidating Avnet's North American credit and collection functions.
Last updated: 7/26/2006
Bill Crowell Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Senior Vice President and Group Financial Officer, Avnet Electronics Marketing
Bill Crowell was promoted to senior vice president and group financial officer for Avnet Electronics Marketing in March 2008. He reports to Harley Feldberg, global president, Avnet Electronics Marketing. Joining Avnet in May 2002 with 20-plus years of experience in financial leadership positions, Mr. Crowell previously served as vice president and group financial officer for Avnet Technology Solutions.
From February 2000 to September 2001, Mr. Crowell served as chief financial officer, treasurer and secretary of global technology company Microtest, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTST. Prior to that he was with Rural/Metro Corporation (NASDAQ:RURL) from 1992 to 2000, where he was senior vice president, finance and acquisitions and vice president of financial services.
Mr. Crowell's background includes mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offerings, tax planning and structure, risk management, insurance, strategic planning, treasury management and investor relations.
Leading a team of more than 150 finance, credit and inventory management professionals in North America, Europe and Asia. Mr. Crowell also reorganized and integrated accounting groups in Europe that joined Avnet Technology Solutions with various company acquisitions, thereby creating an efficient and focused organization. He then led a team dedicated to working capital reduction to improve overall return on capital employed; and he reduced global inventory levels by $250 million. The Avnet Executive Board and Board of Directors recognized Mr. Crowell's accomplishments by electing him a corporate officer in January 2006.
A Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Crowell earned his bachelor of science degree in finance and accounting from the University of Arizona and attended the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Graduate Division.
Last updated: 3/18/2008
Fred J. Cuen Avnet Executive
Fred J. Cuen is an Avnet executive who served as president of Avnet Technology Solutions Americas until May 2008. From August 2004 until June 2005, Mr. Cuen was president of Avnet Technology Solutions, IBM Americas, with responsibility for Avnet Technology Solutions' IBM businesses in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Australia. Before that, he served as executive vice president and general manager, and previously had been senior vice president of sales and general manager, IBM Business Unit, for Avnet Hall-Mark (now Avnet Technology Solutions). Under Mr. Cuen's leadership Avnet's IBM two-tier U.S. reseller business grew from $800 million to more than $1.5 billion.
Mr. Cuen began his career with IBM at age 19, working a summer job cleaning floors and equipment. He was quickly hired full-time and worked in manufacturing, making large storage devices. He held posts in research, manufacturing, engineering and management before moving into sales and channel management. Prior to joining Avnet, Mr. Cuen was vice president of sales and business development at Savoir Technology Group, which was acquired by Avnet in 2000.
He currently serves as the chair of United Way of San Antonio and on the board of directors of the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). With more than 22,000 member companies in more than 100 countries, CompTIA represents the voice of the world's $1 trillion-plus IT industry.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.
Harley Feldberg was promoted to president of Avnet Electronics Marketing/Global effective July 2004. Mr. Feldberg reports to Avnet Chief Operating Officer Rick Hamada and is a corporate officer and member of the Avnet Executive Board.
Mr. Feldberg, with Avnet for 26 years, served as president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas from March 2002 until June 2004, where he led the team to significant operational and financial improvements through strategic investments and people and systems to enhance customer service. Prior to that, he spent nearly two years on an executive expatriate assignment as president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Asia.
Prior to that he held executive posts in sales, marketing and business management. In 1999 he was named president and director of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas' product business groups, and later served as president of the interconnect, passive & electromechanical (IP&E) product business group.
He received his Bachelor's Degree in history/political science from the University of Maryland.
Greg Frazier serves as a member of the Avnet Electronics Marketing global executive team and is vice president of Avnet, Inc. He is responsible for the design of supply chain strategies for Avnet's global suppliers and customers. He also has oversight of Avnet's global supply chain team, which helps those customers who are transitioning their business to different global regions. Additionally, Mr. Frazier identifies strategic business development opportunities in the supply chain space.
He joined Avnet in 1977, and later created Avnet's Strategic Account Organization, focusing on the distribution needs of the Fortune 500's top 50 electronics companies. The success of that organization led to the formation of Avnet's Value-Added Services organization. Mr. Frazier would later establish Avnet's Integrated Material Services (IMS) business unit - Avnet's dedicated supply chain management business unit - serving as its vice president and than as president. Mr. Frazier took on his global role in 2004.
Mr. Frazier is a recognized expert in global electronics supply chain management and is frequently asked to speak on this topic at industry events and conferences. He was named a 2006 Practitioner Pro to Know by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine and was listed among Electronic Buyers' News Hot 25 Executives in 1998.
Philip Gallagher, a 25-year Avnet veteran, has served as president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas since July 2004.
Mr. Gallagher previously served as senior vice president, global business development, Avnet Electronics Marketing, where he was responsible for the groups' global supplier relationships. Additionally, he led Avnet Electronics Marketing's global account sales strategy and coverage model and took the lead role in developing its business migration strategy and process. Prior to that he served as president of the semiconductor distribution specialist business unit, Avnet Cilicon, and the Avnet RF & Microwave business unit. Earlier, he was executive vice president of sales and marketing for Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas.
Mr. Gallagher has also held other executive posts such as vice president of sales and operations for North America (including Canada and Latin America), southwest area director, Los Angeles regional manager, district manager, sales manager and account manager. He earned Avnet Leadership Awards in 1992 and 1993 and was a recipient of the Chairman's Award in 2001. He was named a corporate officer in November 1997 and promoted to senior vice president of Avnet, Inc. in November 2007.
Mr. Gallagher holds a B.A. from Drexel University and a certificate from Cal Tech University in Supplier-Base Management.
He is a past president of the National Electronic Distributors' Association (NEDA) and an active volunteer for Make A Difference Day. He also coaches football for the Boys and Girls Club of America, and baseball for the Mountain View Little League, and is actively involved in local church activities.
Last updated: 11/19/2007
Rick Hamada Senior Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Chief Operating Officer
Rick Hamada serves as chief operating officer for Avnet, Inc. and has responsibility for overseeing the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the Avnet Electronics Marketing and Avnet Technology Solutions operating groups. In addition, Mr. Hamada is responsible for providing leadership for Avnet's global logistics, information technology and operational excellence teams. He also serves as a member of the Avnet, Inc. Executive Board. He was elected a corporate vice president of Avnet, Inc. in December 1999 and was later promoted to senior vice president in 2002. He reports to Roy Vallee, Avnet's Chairman & CEO.
Mr. Hamada has more than two decades of experience with Avnet and a broad background in the technology industry, spanning from his early career as a technical specialist to leading a multi-billion dollar sales and marketing organization.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Hamada served as president of Avnet Technology Solutions, the operating group that was formed via the internal integration of two formerly independent business units, Avnet Computer Marketing and Avnet Applied Computing, in July 2003. Avnet Technology Solutions grew from $4.0 billion at its inception to nearly $5.0 billion in revenue in 2006 and exceeded the return on capital employed (ROCE) goals set for the group.
Before taking on the leadership for Avnet Technology Solutions, Mr. Hamada was president of Avnet Computer Marketing (from January 2002) and also held a series of management positions within Avnet, giving him a broad base of experience.
Mr Hamada joined Hamilton/Avnet Electronics in 1983 as a technical specialist in San Diego, and his career evolved to encompass sales and marketing roles with the company, including serving as a field sales representative, computer sales manager, sales unit director, regional sales manager, area vice president, and vice president of Open Systems.
He was the recipient of the Avnet Chairman's Award and was named twice to Computer Reseller News' "Top 25 Most Influential Channel Executives."
Mr. Hamada holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from San Diego State University.
Jeff Ittel Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Senior Vice President, Semiconductor Business Group
Jeff Ittel serves as senior vice president, Semiconductor Business Group, at Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas, reporting to Harley Feldberg, president. Previously, Mr. Ittel served for two years as president of the former Avnet Cilicon division of Avnet Electronics Marketing, and before that as senior vice president and director of the Avnet Cilicon product business group. He was named a corporate officer of Avnet, Inc. in November 2003.
After joining the Los Angeles sales force of Hamilton/Avnet in 1984, Mr. Ittel rose through sales management and district management ranks to become North American business manager for Motorola products in 1993, North Central vice president and area director in 1995 and director of Avnet Electronics Marketing-Americas' high-end and communications semiconductor product business unit in 1998, which was later restructured to become Avnet Cilicon.
Mr. Ittel established formidable leadership at Avnet Cilicon, where he and his management team led successful efforts throughout a difficult 3-year industry downturn in vitally important areas such as inventory management, profit maximization, and supplier relationship management, while transforming the sales team using a semiconductor-focused, holistic demand-creation approach to the market.
Mr. Ittel holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Loyola Marymount College in Los Angeles, California.
Last updated: 7/26/2006
Patrick Jewett Senior Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Director, Administrative Services for Shared Business Services
Patrick (Pat) Jewett currently serves as senior vice president and director of administrative services, an organization of Avnet's shared business services. He is also a corporate officer of Avnet, Inc., having been elected a vice president in 1992.
Mr. Jewett joined Avnet in 1982 and was responsible for warehouse operations and value-added operations, credit and finance for Avnet's Electronic Marketing Group from 1987 to 2002. In 2002, he was recruited to form the new shared business services group. In July 2003, Mr. Jewett assumed responsibility for key shared business services practices to support Avnet's business groups and the corporate center, in addition to running the administrative services organization. He reports to Ed Kamins.
Mr. Jewett has held such roles within Avnet's Electronic Marketing Group as controller, vice president of resource allocation and senior vice president of warehouse and value-added operations. Prior to joining Avnet, he was group controller for VSI Corporation, controller for Baker International and an accountant with Dresser International.
Mr. Jewett received his Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from Tulane University. He enjoys racquetball and is involved with NEDA (National Electronics Distributors Association), the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, the Arizona Governor's Advisory Council on Quality and the Arizona Quality Alliance. He is an avid sports fan who collects baseball memorabilia.
In July 2005, Ed Kamins accepted the post of chief operational excellence officer, following two successful years of service as Avnet's chief information officer (CIO) and head of the company's Global Information Solutions (GIS) team. Mr. Kamins took on the additional executive responsibility for enterprise-wide operational excellence in July 2004 and has now assumed those duties full time. He reports to Rick Hamada, Chief Operating Officer.
Applying a philosophy of process and system improvements to the entire global Avnet organization, Mr. Kamins and his operational excellence team are charged with searching out ways to lower costs, speed cycle times, improve customer service and refine operational efficiencies.
Prior to assuming the CIO post, Mr. Kamins founded and served as president of Avnet Applied Computing. Avnet Applied Computing grew to be a $1.6 billion global business before merging into Avnet Technology Solutions. He joined Avnet in 1996 as senior vice president of business development for the former operating group Avnet Computer Marketing.
Mr. Kamins held several high tech sales and marketing positions with various manufacturers and was involved in startups before joining Avnet. His 16-year career with Digital Equipment Corporation culminated with the job of vice president of channels, responsible for the company's $1.5 billion channels business across North America.
He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with honors from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA in marketing from the C.W. Post Center of Long Island University.
He joined the board of directors of InterDigital Communications Corporation in December 2003. The company designs, develops and provides advanced wireless technologies and products that drive voice and data communications. Mr. Kamins is a member of its audit, governance and finance committees.
Jun Li Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Assistant General Counsel and Secretary
Jun Li is vice president for Avnet's Corporate Services Group, assistant general counsel, and serves as corporate secretary for Avnet, Inc. In addition to serving as the secretary to the Avnet Board of Directors, Mr. Li's responsibilities include managing core entity information for the company's 200 plus subsidiaries globally and counseling the Board of Directors and senior management on corporate governance. He joined Avnet in April 2005 as associate general counsel with primary responsibility for providing legal support in the areas of securities law, capital market transactions and corporate governance. Mr. Li reports to David Birk, senior vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel of Avnet.
Prior to Avnet, Mr. Li was an associate with Bryan Cave LLP, a college professor and a business consultant. A native of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Li holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Zhengzhou University, PRC and several degrees including a doctorate in educational leadership with a concentration in cultural anthropology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and a juris doctorate from Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
Last updated: 12/2007
Allen Maag Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Chief Communications Officer
Allen Maag joined Avnet as chief communications officer in September 1998 and is responsible for brand management, which includes global public relations, investor relations marketing, community relations and corporate communications.
He reports to Steve Church, chief human resources development officer and is also a member of Avnet's Executive Board. He was elected a corporate officer in 1999.
Prior to joining Avnet, Mr. Maag was principal and owner of an international marketing communications and consulting firm in Chicago, where he specialized in public relations, advertising and communications. His clients included technology firms, distributors, manufacturers, associations and publishers.
Mr. Maag was also director of advertising and communications for Molex, vice president of Hamilton/Avnet and director of strategic planning at Cahners Publishing (now Reed Business).
In 2002 he was recognized by Upside magazine, and in 2003 and in 2007 by PR Week magazine, and listed among the most effective public relations executives by both publications.
A graduate of the University of Illinois (Chicago Circle Campus), he holds a BA in Communications.
Mr. Maag is the founder of the 16" Softball Hall of Fame, based in Chicago, and in January 2004 was inducted into the Hall for his organizational efforts on its behalf. He is also an avid Chicago Cubs fan.
Tom McCartney is senior vice president, Business Development, IP&E (interconnect, passive and electromechanical components), Worldwide at Avnet Electronics Marketing, reporting to Harley Feldberg, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing.
McCartney, with more than two decades of experience in the electronic components distribution industry, took on the global role in August 2004. From December 2001 to July 2004, he served as president of Avnet IP&E, the Americas-based interconnect, passive & electromechanical division of Avnet Electronics Marketing, Americas, and the largest IP&E distributor in the world. From 1999 to 2001, McCartney served as senior vice president of Avnet Americas IP&E Product Business Group, responsible for all the materials, pricing, supplier relations and marketing for that business. He was named an Avnet Inc. corporate officer in January 2004.
In his 20 years with the Avnet organization, he has held a number of key positions including senior vice president/director of the IP&E Product Business Group, Avnet Electronics Marketing, Americas, and vice president/director of Avnet Electronic Marketing Americas' Passive & Electromechanical Product Business Unit.
McCartney began his career in distribution with Powell Electronics in 1982. He joined Time Electronics in 1984, where he spent the next 14 years and advanced his career in sales, branch management, regional management and as an area sales director. When Time Electronics merged with Hamilton/Avnet to form Avnet's Electronics Marketing Group, McCartney was promoted to senior vice president of its IP&E Product Business Group. While in this position he successfully led several key Avnet acquisition integrations and was instrumental in the creation of the Avnet IP&E product division.
Last updated: 3/28/2005
John Paget Vice President, Avnet, Inc; President, Avnet Technology Solutions, Global
John E. Paget is president of Avnet Technology Solutions, Global and is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the group worldwide. He oversees the day-to-day operations in each of the three geographic regions where Avnet Technology Solutions operates -- the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe -- and is ultimately responsible for the growth and success of the business. Avnet Technology Solutions sales divisions are focused on distinct customer segments, providing technology, services and solutions to business partners to accelerate their success. He was named vice president of Avnet, Inc., in 2007.
Prior to joining Avnet, Mr. Paget was president of the Technology Solutions Division of Synnex Corporation, where he was credited with the success of driving the company's focus on higher-end solutions. Prior to that position, he was president of Synnex North America and chief operating officer. He previously held the position of senior vice president and general manager of GE Technology Financial Services, a part of GE Commercial Finance, a General Electric company. Prior to GE Technology Financial Services, Mr. Paget served as president and chief executive officer of GE Access, a worldwide distributor of Sun Microsystems and complementary products, which was later renamed Access Distribution and acquired by Avnet in December 2006.
Throughout his career, Mr. Paget has demonstrated his ability to drive growth and operational excellence in a variety of executive management positions in sales and operations, including time spent with one the largest Sun Microsystems value-added resellers (VARs) in the Northeast and one of the top ten HP VARs in the U.S. Mr. Paget also held management-level positions in services, sales and marketing operations with many manufacturers, including Compaq Computer Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation and Xerox Corporation.
Mr. Paget received a bachelor's of science degree in administrative services from Pepperdine University.
Last updated: 12/2007
Steve Phillips Senior Vice President, Avnet, Inc.; Chief Information Officer
Steve Phillips is senior vice president and chief information officer for Avnet, Inc., reporting to Avnet Chief Operating Officer Rick Hamada. He is also a member of the Avnet Executive Board and a corporate officer.
Mr. Phillips came to Avnet with the 2005 acquisition of Memec, where he had served as senior vice president and chief information officer since 2004. Prior to joining Memec, Mr. Phillips was senior vice president and chief information officer for Gateway Inc. He joined Gateway in 1999 and served as vice president of information technology (IT) in London and San Diego before his appointment in 2003 as chief information officer. Between 1996 and 1999, he worked for Diageo, the international food and drinks group, where he was information technology director for its European foods division. He previously spent eight years in a variety of leadership roles at Thorn EMI, a UK defense-electronics company.
In May 2007 he was elected to the board of directors of the Arizona Technology Council. During the same month he was named to eWeek's Top 100 CIOs. Ranked No. 56, Mr. Phillips was referenced as being "a leader in IT best practices and a big proponent of business intelligence solutions."
Mr. Phillips holds a BSc (Hons) in Electronic Engineering from Essex University and a post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies from Thames Valley University. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology.