Channel Stunner: John DeLozier, Chandler Legarreta Out at ScanSource, Intelisys

A big shake-up is happening at hybrid distributor ScanSource, with modern communications and cloud president John DeLozier (pictured above) and Intelisys vice president of sales Chandler Legarreta leaving the business.

Sources confirmed to Channel Futures on Wednesday that DeLozier and Legarreta are both departing the company. DeLozier has resigned, those sources said. DeLozier told Channel Futures he could not comment on the news, and ScanSource has not confirmed it. However, sources indicate that the Greenville, South Carolina-based company will announce the news later this week and cite personal opportunities DeLozier will explore.

Intelisys’ Chandler Legarreta

DeLozier and Legarreta, both formerly of 8×8, have functioned as the highest ranking faces associated with the Intelisys technology services distributor (TSD) business that ScanSource bought in 2016. While many still consider Intelisys the largest TSD and most influential in the channel, several high-profile executives have left in recent months, including vice president of partner experience and marketing Jamaal Savwoir and its northwest sales leader, Michael Wolfington.

Intelisys sales agents (technology advisors) and suppliers have registered shock at the news.

Mejeticks’ Robert DeVita

“It’s going to be a rocky ride for the next few months. [DeLozier] brought stability to the organization over the last two years. He is highly respected in the channel community,” Mejeticks CEO Rob Devita told Channel Futures. “There are a lot of concerning changes over the last few months when you add in Mike Wolfington and [Savwoir] leaving.”

Intelisys has been a standout performer in ScanSource’s quarterly earnings over the last few years. Net sales continues to grow, and vendor billings now stand at $2.47 billion annually. Intelisys recently helped ScanSource’s modern communications and cloud unit maintain positive growth in the midst of a quarter where a ransomware attack dealt a heavy blow to its specialty technology segment and other hardware-based offerings. The TSD continues to score wins with large UCaaS and CCaaS vendors, including RingCentral and Genesys.

Moreover, ScanSource executives view Intelisys and its agency-based cloud and carrier services portfolio as key to helping their legacy base of point-of-sale, barcode and voice hardware resellers transition to add revenue streams and stay relevant. But since acquiring Intelisys in 2016, ScanSource has seen many of Intelisys’ most familiar faces move on to other opportunities. That includes Rick Dellar, Jay Bradley, Carol Beering and others.

The distributor scored a huge win in 2021, when it landed DeLozier as president of Intelisys in 2021. He brought with him years of experience at vendor, partner and distributor companies. He previously had worked as the leader of 8×8’s channel, also bringing a ton of experience from CenturyLink, Unify and Arrow. DeLozier, who had formerly worked at a ScanSource VAR, called the appointment at Intelisys president a “dream job.” ScanSource ultimately named him president of its modern communications and cloud unit, which includes Intelisys. In 2022 ScanSource appointed Legarreta, formerly 8×8’s vice president of enterprise sales, to senior vice president of sales at Intelisys.

But despite ScanSource’s addition of channel star power, sources close to the matter tell Channel Futures that Intelisys leadership faced a challenge of working within a larger corporate environment — part of that being …

… facing private equity-backed and rapidly investing foes in Telarus and Avant, sources said.

“It seemed doomed to fail, because you can’t take a racehorse and hook a buggy up to it. You have to let him run,” an Intelisys partner, who asked not to be named, told Channel Futures.

A Revered Name

DeLozier is a well-known face in the channel. Channel Futures named him the 2020 Channel Influencer of the Year.

JS Group’s Janet Schijns

“It’s not often that we witness the departure of a leader of this magnitude whose impact has resonated for decades across the industry. But as our esteemed channel friend John DeLozier embarks on his next adventure, we must recognize that his talent is not bound by the confines of one firm. In fact, much like a skilled tech architect, he’s merely unplugging from one server to connect to another that offers him greater bandwidth for success,” JS Group CEO Janet Schijns told Channel Futures. “He has done this throughout his career climbing the ladder throughout and delivering even more value to the channel from each of his moves. His next venture is not simply an opportunity for the channel but an inevitable triumph waiting in the wings. As such, as a channel we don’t bid him farewell from ScanSource but rather celebrate the upcoming premiere of his next professional masterpiece.”

Nitel executive vice president of channel sales Jim Glackin, who worked with John DeLozier at CenturyLink, echoed Schijns’ praise.

Nitel’s Jim Glackin

“John DeLozier is one of the best in this industry. He’s an inspirational leader, exceptionally skilled at developing talent, and is next level in his understanding of the channel and the dynamics of driving channel business. When he’s ready, he’ll be back in the game and doing what he does,” Glackin told Channel Futures.

Disti Staff Retention

Schijns pointed to a larger challenge that Wednesday’s news reflects: that of technology distributors being able to hang onto their leaders. In addition to other recent departures from ScanSource, other broadline and niche distributors have seen turnover.

Take, for instance, TD Synnex, which recently saw North American sales leader Sammy Kinlaw leave to enter the world of commercial finance; senior vice president of cloud, data and IoT Francisco Criado leave to lead Check Point’s channel; and vice president of vendor marketing Heather Murray leave for AvePoint. And private equity-backed Bridgepointe and Avant have snagged executives from Intelisys.

“Distribution is losing talent at record rates as VC/PE money continues to create new rich opportunities to compensate proven results-oriented channel leaders at the vendor level and offer them the autonomy to do new –often more engaging – work in the ecosystem,” Schijns told Channel Futures. “This is driving distribution leaders and many others to leave the distribution space and to find new more rewarding opportunities in the ecosystem. [DeLozier], as a top talent in our industry, is clearly someone who would attract these offers and these roles.”