Tech Data Hires Former Pinacor CEO

O'Malley will report to Ken Lamneck, president of the Americas at Tech Data, and lead the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor's specialized business units, product marketing division and marketing services organization. O'Malley replaces Elio Levy, who announced his retirement in January. Levy plans to help O'Malley through a transition period, according to the company.

O'Malley joined MicroAge in 1995 as president of MicroAge Data Services. He later served as president of MicroAge and was CEO of its Pinacor distribution subsidiary until he resigned in June 1999.

Pinacor was split off from MicroAge, and it posed a serious challenge to Merisel in the late 1990s to become the third-largest distributor behind Ingram Micro and Tech Data. But a struggling MicroAge ended up putting Pinacor on the block, and its fortunes turned for the worse when a sale fell through and then Compaq deauthorized it as a distributor. Pinacor was sold to ScanSource for $21 million in 2001.

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

"During his three decades in the IT industry, Bob developed an intimate familiarity with the channel and the opportunities it offers both manufacturers and resellers," Lamneck said in a statement. "He is a strong advocate for the channel, and I'm confident that his marketing leadership will contribute to the continued success of Tech Data, our vendors and our customers."

After leaving Pinacor, O'Malley became president of Intermec Technologies, a manufacturer of data capture and RFID products, and was later named chairman, CEO and president of Immersion, a developer of tactile technology for peripherals products. Most recently, O'Malley served as a consultant, helping an array of technology manufacturers develop distribution and marketing strategies.

"[Tech Data] has a record of excellence unsurpassed in the industry, and I look forward to the opportunity to work with such an outstanding and talented marketing organization," O'Malley said in a statement. "I am also eager to reconnect with many of my technology manufacturer and VAR friends."