Former Ingram Micro boss Kevin Murai has joined rival distributor Synnex as
co-CEO and will move into the sole CEO
role in November when current CEO Bob Huang
retires.
Murai has also been named to Synnex's board of directors.
Murai told Channel Insider that while he does not plan to make big changes to
the organization, his first order of business for the next 90 days will be
"looking at all our processes, IT systems, e-commerce platforms, meeting
with our customers and getting their view of what Synnex does right, and
meeting with our vendors too," he said. "Then I will be driving
those changes through the organization."
The former Ingram Micro president and chief operating officer said he does not
plan to woo other employees away from Ingram Micro. He left his old
company on very good terms last summer after nearly 20 years there.
But when asked if he plans to take any resellers with him to Synnex, Murai said,
"Synnex has a great base of [resellers]. There's a lot of common [resellers]
anyway. Our first priority is to touch base with Synnex's existing [resellers]
and find ways to drive increased business through them."
Murai said that because Synnex operates primarily in the North American market,
its model is less complex than Ingram Micro's, allowing it to place more focus
on strategic initiatives such as entering "adjacent markets."
For example, he said, Synnex has made moves into business services and
consumer electronics through acquisitions.
Click
here to read about Synnex's recent acquisition of New Age Electronics.
Murai retired from Ingram Micro last July, citing the desire to spend more
time with his family in Toronto.
Ingram Micro is based in Santa Ana, Calif.,
and Murai had been commuting between the two cities. Murai will now be
based at Synnex's headquarters in Fremont, Calif.,
in the San Francisco Bay Area and said that his family is discussing the possibility
of making a move, but nothing is certain, and nothing will happen until after
the current school year ends.
Observers noted that Murai is a relatively young distribution executive and has
always been expected to return to the fray.
Murai expressed enthusiasm about rejoining the distribution scene.
"I'm excited to be back," he said. "I feel honored to be offered
the chance to take the reins from Bob Huang. Bob Huang has done a great job of
creating this company and building it to where it is now."
Channel News and Analysis 
