Avnet Looks For New Head Of Its HP Division

Kleeman, the business unit’s vice president and general manager, is leaving the Tempe, Ariz.-based distributor, this month to pursue “entrepreneurial opportunities” outside the company, an Avnet spokeswoman said. Kleeman couldn’t be reached for comment.

Kleeman’s resignation, which occurred last week, comes just weeks after Steve Tepedino left his position as president of APS’ Americas region to pursue opportunities outside the company, according to Avnet.

Fred Cuen, who had been co-president with Tepedino, took over as APS Americas president after Tepedino’s departure.

Cuen said Kleeman has decided to pursue an opportunity with a venture capitalist and has agreed to stay with Avnet until the end of March.

“Our HP business has seen double-digit growth under Jim,” Cuen said. “The fundamental direction of the HP business for Avnet is to get to $1 billion, and everyone is still executing to the plan.”

There’s no connection between Tepedino’s and Kleeman’s departures, Cuen added. He said Avnet is looking for Kleeman’s replacement from a list of internal and external candidates.

Rick Rubenstein, president of RMS Technology Solutions, Buffalo Grove, Ill., is a 12-year Avnet customer who has no concerns about the distributor’s recent executive departures.

“It’s sort of interesting, but it’s probably more a reaction of the market than of [Avnet]. They have great people, a great infrastructure, but they’re following the lead of HP and [adjusting to the market],” he said.

Kleeman served as the head of APS’ HP business unit for about two years. Before that, he was a VAR and owned Expanets, an HP integrator.

In December of last year, Kleeman told solution providers attending Avnet’s annual HP partner conference in Phoenix that the distributor was on track to reach $1 billion in HP sales within three years.

He said at the time that current annual revenue for the business unit was running at $750 million, aided in part by the decision of Logicalis—HP’s largest enterprise solution provider—to switch its HP business from Arrow to Avnet.

SCOTT CAMPBELL contributed to this article.