Hamada Named Avnet COO

Hamada, previously president of Avnet Technology Solutions, is slated to assume his new role July 2. He will continue to report to Avnet Chairman and CEO Roy Vallee and will takes over some responsibilities from Vallee.

The COO slot is a resurrected position at Avnet. Vallee last held the COO title from 1992 to 1998, before the position was dropped at the Phoenix-based technology distribution and services company. Hamada said he would begin an internal and external search for his successor immediately.

Hamada said he sees growth opportunities for Avnet’s component business by expanding the company’s Asia presence and for the computer distribution business by shifting beyond the company’s traditional hardware base.

“Industry-standard servers, storage solutions, and software and services are outgrowing hardware. That’s been reflected over the past few quarters,” Hamada said.

About 70 percent of the computer distribution unit’s revenue comes from hardware, but that could drop to between 58 percent and 60 percent in the next few years as software and services opportunities expand, according to Hamada.

Avnet also needs to manage the industry's transition from proprietary servers to industry-standard servers, he added.

“We don’t think proprietary servers are going to disappear, but they offer slower growth,” he said. “Our future is around the total solutions distribution orientation. We are looking at the market from a solutions point of view, rather than just a technology or product line point of view.”