Senior Tech Data Executive Takes Reins At InFocus

His last day will be Friday, and a search is under way for O'Malley's replacement.

O'Malley will take the helm at InFocus as CEO and member of the board of directors on Oct. 1. In May, Kyle Ranson resigned from the posts of CEO and president at InFocus, Wilsonville, Ore.

Although O'Malley will be leaving Tech Data, he will not be gone in spirit. "When you join a company like Tech Data you never really leave it, and a part of it always stays with you," he said. "I was very happy at Tech Data and we have a lot of initiatives going on that were more than fully occupying my time, but I was contacted by a headhunter and asked if I was interested in this opportunity."

The opportunity intrigued him, and he decided to pursue it.

"It's a good fit for all of the things that I've done. Especially because InFocus is a channel friendly company," said O'Malley. "I think InFocus has always been a channel friendly company and they certainly have a channel friendly, experienced CEO to help them take it to the next level."

In conjunction with the hiring of O'Malley, InFocus' board of directors said the company is no longer seeking a buyer. InFocus announced last October that it was putting itself on the market. In its most recent quarter, InFocus reported a $7.8 million loss, or 20 cents per share, on $73.6 million in revenue.

O'Malley does not yet know what to expect when he takes the reins at InFocus.

"It's really too soon to talk about. It's been announced and that's it. I'm going to have to get there and meet the people, obviously, and together we'll figure out what I can add to the equation. It's a very skilled group of people. It's a company that invented the projector for presentations. I'm looking to learn an awful lot from them, much like I have here at Tech Data," he said.

"I really enjoyed my time at Tech Data. In distribution we touch so many people we touch thousands of customers and I've gotten to know many of those customers personally, and it's those relationships I'll cherish and I hope to retain."

VARs will miss working with him.

"I'm sad to see him go. I thought he was fantastic [in the job]," said Rory Sanchez, president and CEO of SL Powers, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based solution provider and MSP.

O'Malley was an "anchor" at Tech Data who understood both solution providers and vendors and how to balance both relationships, Sanchez said.

"He was driving a lot of the initiatives inside the marketing department, trying to get Tech Data to be more than just a product distributor, to be a true partner with his customers through the whole value-add concept."

Sanchez added that he hopes O'Malley's successor will continue to expand Tech Data's managed services offerings and help educate business partners on how to grow their businesses.

O'Malley was with Tech Data for two and a half years.

Prior to his move to Tech Data, O'Malley served as a consultant and as CEO of Immersion and president of RFID and data capture vendor Intermec Technologies. Prior to that, he was also president of MicroAge and then CEO of its distribution arm Pinacor.

He also worked at IBM for 19 years as general manager of PC desktop systems, vice president of marketing and brand management for the Americas, and vice president of sales for IBM's national distribution division.

Scott Campbell contributed to this article.