VARs Laud Synnex Hiring Of Murai As Co-CEO

Solution providers applauded the decision of Synnex to hire former Ingram Micro president and COO Kevin Murai on Monday, saying the announcement makes Synnex a more formidable player in the channel.

"Synnex is serious in gaining marketshare in our channel. They wouldn't make these moves, hiring guys like Bob Stegner [senior vice president of marketing, North America] and Kevin Murai if they weren't serious," said John Marks, CEO of JDM Infrastructure, a Rosemont, Ill.-based solution provider. "They're obviously proving they know how to distribute product. It's great for the channel that he's back in the game."

Marks said his purchases through Synnex have increased "significantly" in the last few years, compared to other distributors and that is likely to continue. "Synnex has learned that to gain market share, it's not always about distributing product, it's about gaining relationships. They've become much more focused on relationships and knowing their customers and their needs over the last few years."

Bob Venero, president and CEO of Future Tech Enterprise, a Holbrook, N.Y.-based VARBusiness 500 solution provider, said his message to Murai is to not change Synnex's number one position as the price leader in the battle against Ingram and Tech Data.

"I hope that Murai doesn't change Synnex's business and pricing model, which has always been one the most competitive in the market," said Venero. "Synnex is the most creative around pricing and programs with VARs. We put out an RFP [request for proposal] for a program we wanted to run along the lines of the Dell model of fulfillment and Synnex was the only distributor able to put it in place."

Laura Steward, CEO of Guardian Angel Computer Services, said she sees Synnex moving to attempt to compete more aggressively with Ingram with a community offering.

"Synnex now has Kevin Murai and (former Ingram Micro Executive) Bob Stegner now," she said. "Why else would you bring them on board if you weren't going to focus on some building some kind of community and value added services. It's not just about pushing boxes anymore. I think they are really starting to get they have to do more than just offer product. It's not about just getting it for the lowest price."

Even with potential Synnex changes, Steward is loyal to Ingram Micro because the company "supported me early on when I started the business and continues to support me as my business grows," she said.

"They gave me a terms account when no one else would," she said. "I'm a member of VentureTech and very loyal to Ingram."

Murai, who worked at Ingram Micro for almost 20 years, was named Synnex's co-CEO on Monday and is expected to take the reins once CEO Bob Huang retires in November. Murai told Everything Channel that he doesn't plan to change much at Synnex, at least not during his first 90 days, when he will focus on talking to vendors and solution providers.

"Synnex has a great reputation. I plan to continue to drive that same path, to strengthen the business in the view of customers and vendors," Murai said. "Nothing is broken, so I don't need to fix anything."

Meanwhile, Ingram Micro CEO Greg Spierkel is traveling in Europe and not available to comment on his former No. 2 man joining a competitor. Ria Carlson, chief strategy officer at Ingram Micro said "Kevin has been with us a long time, almost since he was fresh out of school I think. He made a lot of contributions to the company. We wish him well. There's not a lot more I can say beyond that."

Steve Burke contributed to this article