Ingram Micro's Sanjib Sahoo to Lead Platform Group

Distribution giant Ingram Micro will continue to evolve as a business-to-business (B2B) company through its decision to appoint one of its longstanding executives to oversee its global platform group and the expansion of Xvantage.

The vendor is appointing executive vice president of global technology and chief digital officer Sanjib Sahoo to lead the Ingram Micro Global Platform Group as its new president. Sahoo joined Ingram Micro in 2021 and helped establish a vision and road map for the growth of Xvantage, the company's AI-driven business platform. He will now oversee all aspects of platform strategy at Ingram Micro, including platform development, the innovation flywheel, global growth, services and support, and the business expansion plans for Ingram Micro’s Xvantage platform operating model.

Ingram Micro's Paul Bay

“Ingram Micro has built upon its decades of experience to become a disruptive leader and digital force in the global technology industry,” said Paul Bay, CEO of Ingram Micro. “I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Sanjib as president of our Global Platform Group. A proven business strategist and digital innovator, Sanjib’s expanded leadership and dedicated team will better support and accelerate our vision of becoming a platform company that will reinvent the B2B customer experience through Xvantage.”

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Sanjib Sahoo on New Role

"I feel humbled and honored with the role and the trust that [Bay] and the board and everybody has put on me," Sahoo told Channel Futures. "It's a lot of responsibility, but I'm super, super excited about it. The decision reconfirms our vision to become a platform business."

Sahoo expressed excitement at the chance to help turn Ingram Micro into a platform-focused company, stating that he will help shape how the company moves beyond merely distribution.

"What partners should expect is more and more solving problems together with the partners and the industry," Sahoo said. "If you look at it today, we are looking for our partners to move from just line-card providers or selling technology to selling solutions, and solving problems for their customers. So through Xvantage and Ingram Micro's platform, we can actually leverage the technology more to solve the problems better. Instead of just looking at us only as a distribution capability, partners can look at the power of a platform from Ingram Micro in hopes that they can actually solve those complex problems and find new opportunities together."

Ingram Micro doesn't plan to replace Sahoo, the executive confirmed, as his duties as chief digital officer will be split among other executives at the company.

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At least one of Ingram Micro's partners is excited about the implication of Sahoo's appointment.

"This is great news for partners like us," Deepak Thadani, VP of sales at CloudSafe, told Channel Futures. "Ingram Micro’s Xvantage platform has already made a huge difference in how we do business — making things easier, faster and more insightful. The team’s efforts have also changed how we think about the future of our business and what we all can do together. Sanjib’s leadership has been a big part of that success.

This move shows Ingram Micro CEO Paul Bay and the entire team are doubling down on innovation and the partner experience," Thadani added. "I’m excited to see what’s next and how Ingram Micro will continue to help partners like us grow, differentiate and better serve our customers."

Sahoo has been a popular voice in the channel when it comes to data and the future of the industry. He told Channel Futures in early November that he believed B2B and business-to-consumer models are merging with the implementation of tools like AI.