“I think it’s only fair that I read Patrick’s book.” [Zammit’s] His appointment as COO confirms that he is a highly suitable candidate for the future CEO role. But, you know, he has to excel within that role. To be clear, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. …If you think about my journey so far at Tech Data, I started as his COO and eventually rose to the CEO role. But it was his two-year time frame that got me through that transition,” says Rich Hume, CEO of TD Synnex.
An apparent heir?
TD Synnex announced Thursday that it will appoint Patrick Zammit, currently president of the company’s EMEA business, as its first COO, relieving CEO Rich Hume of some of the operational pressure and allowing him to It could be seen on its own as a move that will allow the company to focus on its bigger business. Strategic planning.
Alternatively, it could be Hume’s first choice in developing a potential successor to the CEO role, should he decide to look for a new opportunity.
On Thursday, Hume spoke with CRN about Zammit’s promotion to chief operating officer (COO) and long-time TD Synnex executive Michael Urban’s decision to leave the company by March 1 next year. , said it was certainly possible that Zammit would someday become CEO.
[Related: TD Synnex Exec Shake-up: Michael Urban Leaving, Patrick Zammit Is New COO]
“I think it’s fair to interpret Mr. Patrick’s appointment as COO as confirmation that he is a very suitable candidate for the future CEO role. ” Hume told CRN. “But, you know, he has to excel within that role. And let me be clear, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”
This is not the first time something like this has happened to the distributor. Hume served as Tech Data’s CEO for more than three years until Tech Data and Synnex merged in late 2021 to form TD Synnex. However, before that he served as the company’s COO for two years.
“If you think about my journey so far at Tech Data, I started as COO and eventually rose to the CEO role,” he said. “But it took me two years to get over that transition.”
Hume also said that Michael Urban’s departure, scheduled for March 1 next year, will allow Urban to work with Zammit on his transition to the COO role and determine whether any changes are necessary. He said he would give management time to take stock.
Here’s a closer look at what’s happening at the CEO level at TD Synnex.
When was the decision taken to appoint Patrick Zammit (pictured) as Chief Operating Officer?
One of the board’s primary responsibilities is regarding senior leadership succession planning. As a result, there has been ongoing dialogue with our management team to discuss what moves are appropriate for them going forward. So I won’t give a specific date, but rather this is a process that we have been going through over time.
And you anticipated my next question, which is about successors. By bringing on Patrick as COO, is it clear that he will be his successor as TD Synnex CEO? You are not hinting at anything about your role.
yes. Again, the board was very prescriptive and thorough in its thinking about succession. And I think it’s fair to interpret Mr. Patrick’s appointment as his COO as confirmation that he is a very suitable candidate for the CEO role in the future. But, you know, he has to excel within that role. To be clear, I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.
I think there is certainly support for him to become COO as he is a very strong candidate for the CEO role. But don’t lose that end. I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.
Now, I wish I could decorate it a little more. If you think about my journey so far at Tech Data, I started as his COO and eventually rose to the CEO role. But it was during his second year that I went through that transition period.
Patrick was the first COO of TD Synnex, right?
Yes, for TD Synnex. But at Tech Data, he was COO before I became CEO. But yes, he is the first COO of TD Synnex.
So, what is the reason behind TD Synnex’s acquisition of COO?
Well, considering our business, that’s pretty big. We have a very large footprint globally. And bringing on a COO to take on some of the operational and strategic responsibilities gives me the opportunity to focus more broadly on the company, the strategy, and the strategic business model.
What do you pay attention to in terms of strategy?
What I want to say to you is that I believe the strategy we have now is bold and the right strategy for the future. This just gives me the opportunity to focus on further improvements and making sure we accelerate and continue to accelerate our path into the future.
Is there a particular strategy you are focusing on for 2024?
Our strategy is to focus on high growth technologies. Cloud, analytics, AI, cybersecurity, hyperscale infrastructure.
Will Patrick move to America?
Yes, he plans to immigrate to the US on January 1st. He will spend the overwhelming majority of his time here in the United States, especially his first year.
Michael Urban spent many years at TD Synnex and before that at Tech Data, and has long-standing relationships with channel partners. why does he leave?
So, a few things. First, Michael’s time between his Tech Data, Synnex, and TD Synnex spanned a total of 12 years. Considering his recent past with TD Synnex, Michael has made incredible contributions. He was a huge success in mergers in the Americas. He has driven high-growth business strategies in the Americas and outperformed the market during his time with TD Synnex. He is a major contributor to his TD Synnex and before that he was a contributor to Synnex and Tech Data. Michael felt it was a good time to change jobs and pursue other opportunities. Let me tell you, Michael loves this channel. He loves his entire IT environment. But he just decided it was time to think about pursuing other interests for the future.
So, will Michael (pictured) leave the company of his own free will?
yes. And he’s very supportive of the transition. He is committed to supporting Patrick and he will be with us until March 1st, at which point we believe the knowledge sharing will be mostly complete. And at that point he changes jobs.
Will TD Synnex have a new Americas president after Michael leaves?
So Patrick and Michael will have an opportunity to clean up their organizational structure over the next 90 days. And I expect they will.But let me be clear, Peter Larocque. [president of TD Synnex North America] Leading North America.and Otavio Lazzarini Barbosa [senior vice president of TD Synnex Latin America] Leading Latin America. And these two leaders will continue to lead these key segments. However, Patrick and Michael plan to work together to define the rest of the organizational structure. We are fortunate to have a very well-rounded membership in our organizational structure. Besides Peter, we have a great team in North America. And besides Otavio, we also have a very experienced team in Latin America.
Are the changes happening to Michael and Patrick an isolated executive change at TD Synnex, or is this part of an ongoing investigation into all of TD Synnex’s executives?
We have a very comprehensive career planning process from the bottom of the organization all the way to the top. Certainly, we’re involved at my level and the more senior board level of the team, and there’s always an ongoing process of what I call the executive team’s resources and what their career paths are. We are having a discussion.
Source link
