Distribution Watch: Ingram Micro, Avnet, Global Convergence

Happy New Year, and welcome back to Distribution Watch! Let’s start 2015 on the right foot with the latest stories from Ingram Micro (IM), Avnet (AVT) and Global Convergence.

Ingram Micro: Ingram Micro announced it has named Mark Snider as senior vice president and general manager of Ingram Micro Canada.

Snider is a seven-year veteran at Ingram Micro, where he has helped to expand the distributor’s relationships in Canada with vendors including Cisco Systems (CSCO), Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Microsoft (MSFT) and Samsung, according to the announcement. Snider’s team also worked to integrate several of the distributor’s business units and improve Ingram’s solutions portfolio for Canadian channel partners in 2014. He was recently inducted into the Ingram Micro VentureTech Network Hall of Fame for his accomplishments.

"For nearly seven years Mark has successfully led the Canadian business, transforming it into a large and significant contributor to Ingram Micro's global operations," said Paul Bay, president, North America, Ingram Micro Technology Solutions, in a statement. "We are pleased to recognize Mark's leadership, innovation and relentless dedication to our channel partners and associates within Canada and across North America."

Avnet: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas' distribution agreement with Micron Technology (MU). Avnet began distributing Micron’s memory solutions in 1985.

“Memory is a foundational element of electronic devices for applications ranging from the Internet of Things and mobile/smartphones to data centers, smart cars and more,” said Ed Smith, president of Avnet Electronics Marketing Americas. “Through the years, Avnet Electronics Marketing America and Micron have collaborated to provide customers with not only top-quality products and solution support, but a high-value sourcing experience that is efficient, reliable and cost effective.”

“We are very proud of our longstanding relationship with Avnet,” said Lorenzo Ponzanelli, senior director of Sales, Worldwide Distribution at Micron Technology. “Micron continues to collaborate with chipset vendors and valued distributors like Avnet to create innovative solutions for our customers.”

Global Convergence: Global Convergence has named Simon Short as president of Worldwide Sales and Marketing. In his new position, Short will be responsible for consolidating performance among the distributor’s sales, marketing, product management and service-solutions group, according to the announcement.

Short joined Global Convergence in June as the managing director of Sales for EMEA and APAC. He previously served as managing director of International Business for Dimension Data (formerly NextiraOne), where he was responsible for building and managing the company’s international business unit for channel partners and global enterprise accounts.

That’s all the time we have this week, but we’ll be bringing you more distribution-centric news every Friday this year, right here on The VAR Guy. Thanks for dropping by, folks. Keep on distributing.