Kristin Russell out as Arrow Global Enterprise Computing Solutions president

Arrow said in an SEC filing that Kristin Russell was terminated as president of Arrow Global ECS “without cause” effective 2 April and has been replaced by nearly 20-year Arrow veteran Eric Nowak, who was most recently president of EMEA and Australia-New Zealand for Arrow Global ECS.

Kristin Russell, a 20-year-plus IT industry veteran who headed up Arrow Electronics $7.7bn Global Enterprise Computing Solutions business, was terminated without cause effective 2 April, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

In the SEC filing, the distributor said Eric Nowak, a 20-year Arrow executive who was most recently president of EMEA and Australia-New Zealand for ECS, is replacing Russell, who led the business for the last three years.

"On March 27, 2024, Arrow Electronics, Inc. (the "Company") determined to appoint Eric Nowak to succeed Kristin D. Russell as the Company's President, Global Enterprise Computing Solutions effective as of April 2, 2024," said Arrow in the filing.

"Ms. Russell will cease to be an employee of the Company after such date, and she will be eligible for separation benefits based on her termination without cause."

Arrow ECS declined to discuss the departure of Russell. Russell did not respond to a CRN US request for more information by press time.

However, in an emailed statement in response to a CRN inquiry, a company spokesperson wrote that Arrow ECS thanks Russell "for her contributions to our business."

The spokesperson also called Nowak a "well-respected leader with a track record of successful business results and team leadership."

In the statement, Arrow said Nowak has "built great relationships with our channel partners and suppliers and plays a critical role in our strategy to ensure our business is tightly aligned with our suppliers and value-added resellers. … We're telling our suppliers and customers this leadership change will be seamless for them, and we believe it will only enhance what is already a strong working relationship with them."

News of the replacement comes less than two months after the distributor lost Daniel Campbell, its former president of Arrow ECS for North America. Campbell in February was appointed president of North America at Palo Alto Networks.

Campbell was replaced by Ben Klay, a 20-year Arrow veteran, as interim president of the company's North America ECS business.

Global ECS is one of two primary businesses of Arrow Electronics, the other being Global Components.

On 8 February, Arrow said that its Global ECS revenue for its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended 31 December, fell 11 per cent to $2.21bn compared with $2.50bn in the year ago quarter.