Category: Moving People

Visa MD moves to Nuggets

Kevin Jenkins, the former Managing Director of Visa, has joined the board of blockchain payments and identity brand Nuggets. In a major coup for the fast-growing British company, Jenkins has signed on as a non-Executive Director, bringing years of invaluable experience to the team.

Nuggets has already been making rapid progress in the worldwide payments area, especially recently in China, it claims. As the platform rolls out across the globe, Jenkins’ “considerable expertise” looks set to accelerate that progress even further.

Alastair Johnson, founder and CEO of Nuggets, said: “Kevin is a true payments pioneer, with an amazing reputation for establishing partnerships with financial Institutions, technology partners, retailers and e-commerce providers.

“He’ll help us build the relationships we need to roll out the product as quickly as possible. We’re thrilled that, after so long working on customer payment journeys at Visa, Kevin will be helping us bring even more fundamental and exciting change to the way people manage payments and ID.”

The Visa the brand was used to spend over £1 in every £3 in the UK. He also drove the adoption of contactless payments at UK merchants.  The successful partnership with TFL has led to more than a billion contactless journeys and more than 40 percent of all pay-as-you-go London transport journeys a day.

Kevin Jenkins said: “The current model of businesses holding personal information is broken. It needs fundamental change, study after study shows that customers are frustrated by the payments journey: the many steps they have to take, and the security fears.

“For decades, the payments industry has been trying to achieve a balance between security and convenience. What impresses me so much about Nuggets is that it manages to optimise both.

“I’m convinced that every stakeholder in the payments ecosystem, from customers to retailers, will embrace Nuggets. I’m incredibly excited to be part of a genuine revolution.”

This latest board announcement follows the news, at the end of June, of Nuggets’ partnership with QFPay, the Chinese payment provider used by Asian commerce giants Alipay and WeChat.

QFPay has managed more than 500 million mobile payment transactions to date. Now, Asian merchants using QFPay will also be able to use Nuggets’ unique payments and identity features.

Paul Fox gets new roles

banner_220x220Getronics CEO UK & International’s, Paul Fox will be a busy lad – he has been promoted to Global Head of Sales for Getronics as well as for Pomeroy, which was recently acquired by Getronics, and appointed to Getronics’ Management Board.

The move is part of Chairman and Group CEO Nana Baffour’s latest wave appointments.  Fox became CEO of Getronics’ UK & International business units in August 2017, having joined Getronics in October 2014 as Global Business Development Director.

As Global Business Development Director, Fox led Getronics’ global shift to digital solutions while also managing the UK sales organisation in the capacity of CSO.  As CEO of Getronics UK & International business units, he had overall responsibility for about 40% of the company’s worldwide revenue.

With a personal philosophy of commitment for the long term, Fox is a proven global business executive noted for his disciplined approach to business development and is the ideal leader for global sales organisation.  He has worked previously for Samsung (6 years) and Lexmark (10 years), progressing through increasingly senior sales positions into major international management roles.

Fox said: “My focus at Getronics has been on helping both mid-market and enterprise companies use digital technology to support their business growth objectives.  As Getronics’ head of sales for UK & International, my primary focus has been on growth, and I look forward to bringing that experience to bear in my new and expanded role.”

“On behalf of the entire team, I am delighted to welcome Paul to the board,” said Nana Baffour, Chairman and Group CEO of Getronics. “I firmly believe that to grow and to be the best, we must have the best people proposition and be willing to do things differently.  Paul not only shares these beliefs but has operated according to them from the day he joined Getronics.”

Former Dell EMC UK CEO joins DCC

6v6rdBfd_400x400Former Dell EMC UK chief exec Tim Griffin has joined Exertis parent DCC to head up the firm’s tech division.

Griffin will be responsible for the “strategic direction” of DCC Technology, which trades as Exertis and report to DCC CEO Donal Murphy.

Griffin  left his role as Dell EMC’s UK CEO in November 2016.

In a statement he said: “We have all the foundations in place and the support of DCC to take this amazingly vibrant and successful company to the next level. People make the difference in business and we have very talented and driven teams across our diverse range of technologies. I am looking forward to leading and inspiring these teams to even greater success in the future by broadening our reach and ensuring that our customers and people are our key priorities.”

DCC CEO Murphy added: “This is a key appointment and I am delighted that Tim has accepted the challenge and opportunity to grow our technology distribution business and expand our presence in new and existing territories. He brings extensive international experience and expertise with an emphasis on customer relationships, and a history of creating highly engaged teams aligned to strong company values. I am confident that with the great management we have in place and Tim’s leadership qualities, we have an exciting future ahead.”

EkkoSense appoints Jason Kaye as Sales Director

jason-kaye-1355x908UK-based data centre thermal optimisation outfit EkkoSense has appointed Jason Kaye as Sales Director. Jason joins the company after seven years in senior EMEA roles at RF Code, the real-time data centre solutions specialist, and will play a key role in building out the EkkoSense partner network and developing international sales.

Jason Kaye brings over 20 years’ data centre, software and networking engineering and sales experience to EkkoSense – most recently from physical asset management and environmental monitoring data centre solutions provider RF Code, where he joined as Director – EMEA Technical Engineering before serving as the company’s EMEA General Manager. Earlier he spent three years in EMEA & APAC technical sales management roles with Uplogix, the network management leader.

EkkoSense’s CEO Dean Boyle said that EkkoSense was growing strongly and is increasingly seen as an innovator when it comes to optimising thermal performance across critical facilities such as data centres.

“Bringing Jason Kaye on board to help drive our next key growth phase is an important appointment for EkkoSense, particularly as we work to take our distinctive thermal optimisation proposition to a broader international market. Jason brings proven sales leadership skills to EkkoSense, while his in-depth knowledge of the real-time environmental monitoring and asset management challenges facing today’s data centre operators will be a significant benefit.”

Easy Software appoints Sam Lawrence to Business Development

0Document management outfit Easy Software has appointed enterprise solution sales specialist Sam Lawrence to its sales and support team as Business Development Manager.

Responsible for managing all aspects of account management from pre-sales and sales through to project delivery and the transition to support, Sam will be accountable for a number of Easy’s  flagship accounts, with her appointment clearly an important addition to the growing UK sales and support team.

Sam has 15 years experience in business development in the knowledge and risk management technology space in a career that features senior business development appointments at Lakeview Computers, Select Technology, SHE Software and Cardinus Risk.

In parallel with this appointment of Sam, the German-headquartered company has also appointed software solutions analyst Sean McLaughlan as an Easy software consultant.

Sean has over ten years of experience working in software solutions consultancy, working at tech services companies such as Digital Copier Systems, NetHelpDesk and MSX International. He is skilled in focussing on the management of relationships with all customers, particularly in all areas that impact the product implementation and services cycle.

For Easy Sales & Marketing Director Howard Frear, these appointments signal another positive chapter in the company’s on-going success story. “We are excited with these two strong appointments to the Easy team, and we’re sure Sam will quickly help us grow EASY to support our pipeline, as her impressive business development track record, combined with her solid experience in the risk and knowledge management space, will be an extremely hard combination to beat.

“We are really pleased to welcome Sean to the Easy UK family. Sean will work to support all aspects of the client relationship across our services and product solution, where he has impressive experience already.

“These are important appointments for Easy as we anticipate further growth in the areas of DM and contract management, digital finance and HR, as well as using DM to address regulatory requirements such as GDPR.”

Xerox’s new president and chief operating officer has a channel past

64bd3f58-d4e1-4a81-a8b0-fd317f56d3efXerox’s new president and chief operating officer is a channel veteran with top-level experience at other high profile companies.

Steve Bandrowczak, who most recently worked at Alight Solutions, and has worked at Sutherland Global Services and notably at HPE. He has previously held senior leadership positions for various multi-billion-dollar global companies, including Avaya, Nortel, Lenovo, DHL and Avnet.

Xerox vice chairman and chief executive officer John Visentin said that Bandrowczak bought a track record of growing businesses and enhancing competitiveness through a combination of innovation, technology and operational rigour.

“His breadth of experience across the product and service delivery chain will be essential to generating value for our shareholders and building more effective and efficient ways to serve our customers.”

Bandrowczak will be responsible for developing and carrying out a global operations strategy in the company’s business support functions, including product and service delivery, customer billing, information technology, worldwide procurement and real estate.

He said that Xerox was an iconic brand with a legacy of innovative technologies.

“Joining the company at this time affords me the opportunity to help shape the next iteration of a global leader.”

 

 

Redstoneconnect boss moves on after sell off

markbraundredstoneceo-580x358Redstoneconnect’s CEO has decided it is time to move on after finishing off the sales of the outfit’s managed services and SI units.

Mark Braund is standing down and from Monday chairman Frank Beechinor would take over the CEO role in a move which is part of a management reshuffle.

Braund will stay around for several months to ensure there is a smooth transition and current director Guy van Zwanenberg will become chairman.

Braund has been with the firm for three years during which he had to redefine the company’s strategy and re-position and further develop the Company.

The result was the disposal of the Systems Integration and Managed Services divisions for £21.6 million, in addition to other restructuring activities.

He said that RedstoneConnect was now in an excellent position to build-upon its growing solutions offering and to further capitalise on the opportunity that exists for workspace management software.

His successor Beechinor said that the business had been left in a strong position thanks to Braund’s stewardship and it was determined to grow the firm as a software specialist.

 

Getronics looks to former BT and Colt manager for COO

3565746760001_5488856853001_5488858743001-vsGetronics has named former president of BT’s global customer services Rogier Bronsgeest as its chief operating officer.

Bronsgeest worked at BT for more than six years, leaving in December 2015 to join Colt as chief customer experience officer. He will begin his new role immediately, with Getronics claiming the new hire is “the right man to help the ‘new’ Getronics fulfil its goals and ambitions”.

He said that he would continue down the path chosen in recent years and build on the new Getronics vision, go-to-markets and value propositions,

“I am looking forward to improving our user experience and helping Getronics establish itself as the preferred partner for businesses in transformation”, he said.

Bronsgeest worked more than five years at the IT services firm between 2004 and 2009 as executive vice president of global service delivery and global programme management.

Bronsgeest replaces Thomas Fetten, who left Getronics in December 2017 before joining cybersecurity specialist SecureLink as CEO in March.

There has been much motion at Getronics in the last year. CEO Mark Cook stepped down last August to be replaced by the majority shareholder of its new investor – Bottega InvestCo – Nana Baffour.

Rich Hume to take over at Tech Data

Rich-HumeA former IBM partner chief and current COO  has secured the top job at Tech Data as current CEO Bob Dutkowsky cleans out his desk after nearly a decade at the top of the outfit.

Rich Hume will assume the CEO post on 6 June 2018, as Dutkowsky steps back to the role of executive chairman of the board.

Tech Data billed the announcement as the “culmination of the board’s leadership succession plan that capitalises on the strength of the Tech Data management team”.

Hume joined Tech Data in 2016, after 30-years at Biggish Blue including stints as GM of Global Business Partners and GM for Europe.

Tech Data needs a bit of a rethink after its disappointing Q4 results. It had been doing well up to that point with its annual revenues last year up  40 percent to $36.8 billion following its acquisition of rival Avnet Technology Solutions.

Charles Adair, lead independent director of the Tech Data Board, said: “Today’s announcement is the result of a thorough and thoughtful long-range leadership succession planning process undertaken by the board over the past several years.

“The board is confident that our plan provides a natural progression for Tech Data to continue to grow and thrive. Since joining the company in 2016, Rich has been a critical member of our executive team and has proven himself a strong leader with extensive industry experience and operational expertise. Importantly, having served as COO, Rich is intimately familiar with Tech Data’s business operations, and we are confident that he is the ideal candidate to succeed Bob as CEO.

“We are also thrilled that the company will continue to benefit from Bob’s wealth of experience and strategic guidance as he transitions to his new role as executive chairman of the board.”

 

 

PCM’s sales and marketing director leaving

extPCM’s sales and marketing director Lee Dutton is planning to clean out his desk and exit the building with his belongings in an old photocopy box.

He had only been in the company since October after he was poached from Misco.  He hired his old sales team  following Misco’s collapse into administration in November.

PCM has confirmed that Dutton is leaving, “but not immediately” and no one is saying why.

PCM is relocating its legacy Scottish office, which was on a temporary lease, following its acquisition last month of Scottish Cisco Gold partner Provista, whose Glasgow HQ is situated just 20 miles away.

It has been suggested that the outfit is cutting back despite it only launching in the UK last May. However this was denied by PCM’s UK boss Donavan Hutchinson.

“We’re constantly reviewing, as obviously we took on a tonne of sales staff [from Misco] all at once who were more product-focused and not solutions-focused, so have found it quite difficult. But everyone is doing well, and we are growing significantly, which will be shown in our financials when PCM in the US releases its financials”, he said.

PCM recently took on experienced industry head Jim Mooney to head up its solutions and services sales, and Hutchinson said he is in no hurry to appoint a replacement for Dutton. He will be running the sales division for the moment.

 

Vickerage becomes a Maverick

CaptureScanSource Imago’s president James Vickerage has left the distributor to join Maverick

The move can be seen in a Linkedin shuffle where Vickerage updated his Linkedin profile with the new role yesterday. Previous managing director of Tech Data Maverick, Tony Scully has meanwhile had his LinkedIn profile set to “looking for new opportunities in IT distribution” since December 2017.

ScanSource has announced that Paul Constantine will become president of ScanSource’s international business. He joined the firm in 1999 and most recently served as co-president of its worldwide barcode, networking and security business.

“James Vickerage is no longer with the company. We are grateful for his leadership and service to the company as we successfully integrated Imago into the ScanSource business. Paul Constantine has been named President of international business at ScanSource. In this role, Paul leads the company’s international growth initiatives”, the company said.

It looks like the ScanSource Imago branch will not have a dedicated European executive, and will instead be managed at a group level.

Vickerage became president of ScanSource Communications in October 2016 and oversaw the integration of UK-based AV distributor Imago, acquired by ScanSource in 2014.

SteelEye spans its business and hires Matt Smith

Matt-Smith-headshot-898x505UK Compliance technology and data analytics outfit, SteelEye has named Matt Smith as its new chief executive.

The SteelEye product was designed to help financial firms meet their obligations under MiFID II, whilst also acquiring insights into their business operations. His appointment will help to drive the firm’s growth as it markets its secure and scalable data storage platform which incorporates analytics, the statement continued.

Matt brings over 18 years of technology and management expertise to SteelEye. He joins from Bloomberg where he was a senior product manager working on a range of financial regulation and compliance solutions. Before, he was the chief information officer at Noble Group, a global commodity trading firm, where he oversaw regulatory technology and the deployment of big data, trading and analytics platforms.

Of more than 9,000 firms registered with ESMA, many are currently ill-prepared to meet the MiFID II Directive’s new obligations for the recording and reporting of data, SteelEye reckons. The 7,000+ small to mid-sized firms across Europe will be hardest hit by the changes. No longer able to rely on larger institutions to handle their record keeping and reporting obligations, these firms will now be held accountable for their own regulatory conformity which includes recording and storing their voice data.

Peter O’Shea, a non-executive director at SteelEye said: “The founders and board are excited Matt has accepted our offer to lead the team. As a highly experienced regulatory technology professional, Matt brings a wealth of expertise in the smart application of technology to solving complex regulatory needs and shares our view on empowering firms to use the resulting data to gain a business edge.”

SteelEye’s cloud-based platform has several advantages to help firms address their MiFID II obligations, the firm reckons. It claims it is the only platform that offers transaction reporting, record keeping, best execution and data insight in a single offering. It also has an open API framework, allowing clients to harness the power of their data. The platform also lets clients store their data in wherever they want it to be.

Smith said, “SteelEye is here for the small to medium-sized financial firms who require a flexible solution for their record keeping and regulatory reporting needs at an appealing price. We provide a secure and comprehensive solution, built on the most modern and scalable technology and backed by a world-class team of technologists. I am delighted to have been asked to join this team which is well positioned to revolutionise the FinReg and data analytics market.”

Maverick sails across the pond

Columbus-flagship-Santa-Maria-discoveredAV distributor Maverick is carrying out global expansion and will be borging the Americas and Asia Pacific into its  European operation.

Maverick AV Solutions works with audio-visual brands. Over the past 20 years,  Maverick has grown from a team of seven people in the UK into something somewhat larger.

Preparation has already begun with Jon Sidwick and the Maverick AV Solutions team working closely with the Americas’ leadership team to ready for expansion into the US and then throughout the Americas region.

Jon Sidwick, VP Maverick AV Solutions explained: “This is a new chapter for Maverick with a new brand and the strongest mix of manufacturer partners we have ever worked with.

“We are extremely proud of relationships we have built with our customers and vendor partners and I want to take this opportunity to thank them for the support of Maverick to date. I am excited for a new challenge, working with an already established team of AV specialists in these markets to bring the experience from the European teams and create new services and solutions for customers in the regions.”

Joel Chimoindes joins the team with senior management experience, having spent the last year as managing director at Beta Digital Media Solutions and eighteen months as European Solution & innovation director at technology and infrastructure solutions business, Azlan, also part of the Tech Data Group. Joel’s role will be to work alongside the European management team to continue the unprecedented growth within the region, growing the vendor portfolio and helping deliver improved solutions and services for client.

The huge growth in audio-visual applications being adopted by companies of all sizes, educational institutions and government agencies, around the world means that now is the perfect time to expand Maverick’s approach across the globe.

The spinners said: “Maverick’s collaborative, scalable, platform-based solutions and top flight vendor portfolio is well-positioned to meet the needs of this fast-growing market. This successful model will now be expanded into the Americas and Asia Pacific. In the Americas, the Visual Solutions practice, part of the endpoint solutions portfolio, will be incorporated into Maverick in the coming fiscal year.”

Whatever that means.

Infosys taps ex-Capgemini for CEO

61913273Outsourcer Infosys has hired an ex-Capgemini executive to lead the firm after former CEO Vishal Sikka dramatically stepped down in August.

Salil Parekh will begin his tenure as the Indian giant’s new CEO on 2 January, replacing interim CEO Pravin Rao who will go back to being a COO.

Parekh has nearly three decades of global experience in the IT services industry, and a strong track record of executing business turnarounds and managing very successful acquisitions. The Board believes that he is the right person to lead Infosys at this transformative time in our industry. The Board is also grateful to Pravin for his leadership during this period of transition, the company said.

Infosys claims it underwent a “comprehensive global search effort” for the firm’s new leader, claiming that Parekh was the top choice from a pool of “highly qualified” candidates.

The new chief exec spent more than 25 years at Capgemini where he served as CEO of global financial services and held a place on the firm’s executive board.

In August, reports emerged that Infosys’ founder had led a boardroom coup which saw CEO Sikka and three board members abruptly depart from the firm. At the time, Sikka claimed that he had been victim of “unrelenting, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks” from founder Narayana Murthy.

Parekh’s priority will be “business continuity without rocking the boat,” The feud between Sikka and the founders, with N R Narayana Murthy in particular, has left a sour taste in investor and clients’ mouths.

Parekh needs to repair the dented confidence while keeping the founders, who own about 12 per cent of the company, in good humour. He has already received a thumbs up from Murthy as he said after the appointment, “I’m happy that Infosys has appointed Salil Parekh as the CEO. My best wishes to him.”

Tapad hires Rosamilia for London team

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAKnAAAAJGZhZmJiMDdiLWE4NWMtNDQwYy05MTU2LTVkZjk1M2U4NDFlZQCross-device marketing technology outfit Tapad, has hired Davide Rosamilia to join the London team as Senior Solutions Engineer.

The outfit said that demand for the Tapad Device Graph™ has experienced significant growth since the company started licensing its technology in the UK  just over a year ago. Rosamilia will be responsible for providing successful customer implementations for all clients licensing Tapad’s Device Graph, ensuring continued use and growth in the region.

Rosamilia will report to Tapad’s VP of EMEA, Tom Rolph.

Rosamilia has  performed in roles of increasing responsibility across operations, product management, integrating proprietary technologies, and managing supplier relationships. Prior to joining Tapad, he led EMEA technical consulting at Xaxis, the digital media platform owned by WPP. During his career at Xaxis, Davide successfully launched Xaxis Audio, the first successful digital audio product within an agency group. Davide’s experience also includes Appnexus, where – as a result of his strong understanding of the European programmatic ecosystem – he was the first product specialist within the EMEA region.

“Tapad has a healthy mix of startup agility and large company scale, which makes it a very unique player in the marketplace. I believe Tapad is a company that can bring real innovation and drive growth both in the adtech and martech ecosystems, and I am excited to join the team,”Rosamilia said.