New faces at the helm: The big channel CEO moves of 2024
CRN’s round-up of the most notable new chief execs in the channel this year
2024 has been a year marked by a leadership reshuffle across channel organisations as companies tried to breathe new life into their businesses after a difficult 2023.
Roberston and Sumner CEO Marc Sumner told CRN he’d placed more leaders in the first half of 2024 than he had in the last two years.
"And why is that? I see it happening on the back of a tough 2023. The numbers weren't there. Partners looked at their current incumbent and thought, ‘I need to make a change'. That caused a reshuffle within the whole market of people getting new leaders in,” he explained.
While some leaders retired from the channel, others embarked on new journeys within the market, setting the stage for a year of transformations and innovations.
Here’s a round-up of some of the biggest new names in the top job.
James Clark returns to Apogee as CEO
Managed workplace services provider Apogee saw the return of its former CFO James Clark in February to take the helm of the business.
Clark told CRN he had “unfinished business” with Apogee, attracting him back to the MSP after two years with plans to "double-down" on investment in its managed IT services.
"The key priority for me is we have over the last three, four years done a huge amount of work as a company, creating new products and services,” he said.
"For me, the next thing from a company standpoint is, as we look at the next ten years, which are those services that we want to double-down and really scale to create the most value?"
Tech veterans acquire Saepio and take helm as co-CEOs to spearhead growth
In April Saepio announced a big change following its acquisition by two tech veterans who stepped in as co-CEOs to spearhead growth in Europe.
The cybersecurity specialist told CRN it had found the "right" investors after a "lengthy process" to grow and build its brand, with Amir Nooriala and Daniel Cardenas-Clark tag teaming as co-CEOs.
Saepio founders Rob Pooley and Andy Pitt remain as significant shareholders and board members of the business.
“This notable investment is not to change Saepio, it's far from broken, it's about impetus and will enable us to turbocharge our current growth trajectory, pushing our mission beyond the UK. We are incredibly excited to welcome Amir and Daniel to the team,” said Pooley.
Pax8's John Street out, CTO Scott Chasin in as CEO
Pax8 founder and CEO John Street stepped back from the top job and named CTO Scott Chasin as the distributor’s newest CEO.
Chasin joined Pax8 as CTO in 2021 and has known Street for 30 years. As a serial entrepreneur, he has founded and led multiple successful technology start-ups including USA.NET, MX Logic and ProtectWise.
The new CEO—the visionary and driving force behind the distributor's revamped Cloud Marketplace aimed at providing a customer acquisition engine for partners—said Pax8 is at a pivotal moment of innovation.
"It's an amazing company, culturally, and I think my appointment is going to send a message that this is a product-led technology company that will continue to disrupt and innovate the channel for years to come," he told CRN US. "I think it's the beginning of the next chapter for Pax8, one that's built on an incredible foundation and I'm completely excited about the new role."
Sam Mudd officially named new Bytes CEO
After more than two months in the interim position, Mudd was officially named chief exec of the top reseller in May to replace previous Bytes boss Neil Murphy.
Mudd was previously MD of Phoenix Software, acquired by Bytes in 2017, for ten years where she oversaw an extended period of strong organic growth, contributing materially to BTG's success.
"I am very excited to be appointed as BTG's new CEO. What has become even clearer in the past few months is the strength of our relationships with customers and the depth of our vendor partnerships,” Mudd said at the time.
"All of this is underpinned by the quality of our people, who I truly believe are some of the best in the industry. It's an honour to lead them and the wider company in its next chapter."
New CEO at AWS
Matt Garman officially became Amazon Web Services' new CEO in June.
The longtime AWS veteran hit the ground running, unveiling several leadership changes and new organisations aimed at accelerating the $100bn cloud giant even further following former CEO Adam Selipsky’s departure.
His most controversial change, however, came in the form of his five-days-a-week in-office work policy.
Following this announcement, Garman reportedly suggested workers who don’t want to abide by the upcoming rule could find employment elsewhere.
According to Reuters, an all-hands meeting for the Seattle-based cloud giant included Garman telling attendees that "if there are people who just don't work well in that environment and don't want to, that's OK, there are other companies around."
Avanade appoints Rodrigo Caserta as new CEO
Microsoft solutions provider Avanade gained a new CEO this summer when Rodrigo Caserta stepped into the position from his previous role as global technology business group lead.
And most recently, the group named Paula Panarra as new general manager for the UKI to drive the company’s strategy in the region and further consolidate Avanade’s position in the area.
She previously spent 15 years at Microsoft, where she held important national and international leadership roles, such as general manager of Microsoft Portugal, global director for retail and consumer goods within Microsoft’s business applications sales division, and global business applications value lead.
Littlefish hires new CEO to steer ‘David vs Goliath’ mission
Nottingham-based managed IT and cyber services provider Littlefish appointed Ursula Morgenstern as its new CEO in September to replace Steve Robinson after nearly 14 years at the helm of the company.
She previously served as president of growth markets at Cognizant, and spent more than 18 years at Atos, where she held various roles including CEO of Germany and UK/Ireland, as well as head of Central Europe.
The new appointment comes as the business is on a trajectory towards £100m turnover, and expands its portfolio of capabilities, with its acquisition of Storm Technologies in Ireland for example.
Darren Hardman appointed new CEO of Microsoft UK
After four years as CEO, Clare Barclay passed the torch to Darren Hardman in October to become the new head of Microsoft UK.
Hardman joined Microsoft in 2023 as corporate VP EMEA, after working as CEO of AWS UK & Ireland and president of Avanade EMEA.
He has since stood out for his industry centric approach to AI, as well as for building partnerships across enterprise and start-up customers in EMEA.
Hardman was selected for his understanding of the UK market, as well as for his commitment to innovation and AI.
Barclay will remain at Microsoft UK as president, enterprise & industry, EMEA.
SoftwareOne appoints Raphael Erb new CEO amid disappointing results
In October, software and cloud solutions provider SoftwareOne named Raphael Erb as its new CEO, after disappointing financial results.
The group’s overall performance in Q3 FY24 was below its own market predictions, after the reseller had already experienced a 1.3 per cent year-over-year dip in EMEA revenue in its Q1 FY24 results.
Despite revenue growing 3.1 per cent year-on-year in constant currency and 1.4 per cent year-over-year in reported currency to CHF 236.7m (£210.7m), adjusted EBITDA was down four per cent year-on-year to CHF 39.2m with a margin of 16.6 per cent, reflecting lower-than-expected growth.
Erb joined the reseller in February 1999 as an inside sales team leader and has been climbing the ladder since.
He went on to become country lead for Switzerland and Singapore in 2016, and the head of the services business in the German speaking markets in 2018.
He became CRO and a member of the executive board on 1 July.
Appointed by the board of directors, Erb began his new role on 1 November.
Agilitas names Sara Wilkes as new CEO
Just last month, Agilitas IT Solutions announced the appointment of Sara Wilkes as its new chief executive officer.
She replaced former Agilitas CEO John Hayes-Warren who left the channel services provider to take the helm of distributor Intec Microsystems in October.
With more than 18 years’ experience in the IT channel and holding the position of Agilitas’ chief operating officer since the beginning of the year, her appointment represents the next phase in the company’s ambitious growth strategy.