Bob Dutkowsky, CEO, Tech Data

By Scott Campbell, ChannelWeb

9:00 AM EST Mon. Nov. 13, 2006
From the November 13, 2006 issue of CRN

2006 TOP 25: 1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25

Bob Dutkowsky's office walls remained bare during his first weeks on the job as Tech Data's CEO, but it hardly reflected the activity coming out of the space previously occupied by Steve Raymund.

Dutkowsky was named in September to replace channel legend Raymund and take over a Clearwater, Fla., company that posted a $155.5 million loss for its second quarter, growing slower than competitors in North America. Charged with rejuvenating the $20 billion distributor, Dutkowsky has spent long days meeting with vendors, solution providers and employees as he assesses Tech Data's future. The picture frames can wait.

A serial corporate executive, Dutkowsky, 51, is making his 14th relocation for business reasons. "The wife and I are pretty good at it," he jokes.

Some solution providers initially predicted Raymund would keep a tight leash on his successor, but both men insist Dutkowsky is charge. That was evident when he even answered questions directed toward Raymund. For his part, Raymund says he hired the right man. "Bob has been CEO of three companies, two of which were public companies," he says. "So really, [he has] an extraordinary breadth of experience."

Dutkowsky, who first made a name for himself at IBM, was also CEO of software vendor J.D. Edwards; Egenera, a data center technology vendor; and GenRad, a test equipment maker. "I've lived in the hardware business, the software business, the services business," Dutkowsky says. "I can help Tech Data see where we need to go to support those 70,000 customers."

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