Patrick Zammit Tapped for TD Synnex COO; Urban Out

TD Synnex's Americas president is leaving the company, but not before he helps Patrick Zammit acclimate to his new role as chief operating officer.

Michael Urban will step away from the distributor in March. However, he wrote on LinkedIn that in the meantime he'll help Zammit in the transition.

"One of my passions is being a pilot," Urban said. "I would describe it as I've been in the co-pilot seat and now I'm moving to the jump seat in the cockpit for a while. I love my co-workers; they have done a fantastic job over the last two years to make this merger a success. Thank you all for your support!"

Alex Smith, vice president of channels for Canalys, called Urban an "incredible executive" for TD Synnex. (Channel Futures and Canalys are both owned by Informa Tech.)

"I think there's few that understand the distribution world and the distribution business model more so than Michael," Smith said.

TD Synnex's Michael Urban

Urban is completing an 11-year run at companies associated with TD Synnex. He had led strategy, transformation and global vendor management at Tech Data before joining Synnex in 2019. The companies merged in 2021.

Prior to Tech Data, he worked at the European IT distributor Actebis.

Smith credited Urban for the institutional knowledge he's provided to TD Synnex amidst its merger.

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"He's had such a pivotal role to play at Tech Data and now TD Synnex for for many years and has such a 360-degree kind of view of their different geographies and the different sides of the two legacy businesses," Smith said.

TD Synnex CEO Rich Hume similarly gave Urban credit for his role in the integration.

“He and his team delivered a very successful merger. He also drove our business growth and strategy in the Americas, outpacing the market and establishing TD Synnex as a leader in the region. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” Hume said. “As we continue to evolve and grow TD Synnex to meet the increasing needs and demands of the ever-changing IT landscape, our growth-oriented business strategy and focus on providing the best possible experience for our partners and vendors remain unchanged.”

Who Is Patrick Zammit?

Newly appointed chief operating officer Patrick Zammit was serving as TD Synnex's president of Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan. He started overseeing Europe in 2017 and added Asia Pacific and Japan in 2021.

TD Synnex's Patrick Zammit

TD Synnex's latest organizational shift means that regional presidents from the Americas, Asia Pacific/Japan and Europe will all report to Zammit. In addition, he will oversee "corporate functions responsible for global strategy and information technology."

Zammit worked at Avnet for 17 years, ultimately serving as global president of technology solutions. Tech Data bought Avnet in 2017.

Hume called Patrick Zammit "an outstanding business leader."

"He has consistently empowered his team to innovate and transform our go-to-market business model by harnessing the power of data and digital, setting a new standard in our market for personalized, targeted customer engagement and operational excellence,” Hume said. “His model of servant leadership has allowed for the incubation of new ideas not only to grow business for TD Synnex and our partners, but also to ensure that we are responsible corporate citizens committed to making our planet a better place for our co-workers and our communities.”

Alex Smith said Zammit's appointment could reflect TD Synnex's commitment to the European market.

"Europe is such a big and important market for them, and it's more a complex market compared to U.S. in many respects. You're operating across multiple countries, geographies, languages and regulations, etc. You need to have someone that understands that market," Smith said.