Ingram Micro Restructures U.S. Marketing Effort

Brian Wiser, who was vice president and general manager of U.S. VAR sales, has been appointed U.S. vice president of marketing.

Wiser, who will be moving from Ingram Micro's Buffalo, N.Y., office to the Santa Ana, Calif., headquarters, will report to Pat Collins, senior group vice president of sales and marketing.

By tightly tying sales and marketing, VARs and vendors will see better execution and higher returns on their partnership with Ingram Micro, Collins said. "It's all about making our marketing programs even more result-driven than they are today," he said.

Collins hinted at new solution provider community offerings and more specialized offerings for vendors looking to target specific solution providers in areas such as digital convergence and home networking, ISV offerings and component product offerings.

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Reporting to Wiser will be Vice President of Channel Development Bob Stegner, Director of Product Marketing Bernard Luthi, Senior Director of Corporate Events Marcia Willett and Director of Creative Services Tina Long.

Also reporting to Wiser will be a new position, yet to be filled, senior director of customer marketing and program development. That executive will oversee the development of marketing programs and services initiatives including vertical markets, technology solutions such as video surveillance, and customer loyalty offerings.

As part of the restructuring, Vice President of Category Management Lori Snow will take on additional responsibilities and report directly to Collins. Snow will be responsible for establishing the strategic direction of the category management group.

Jerry Goetsch, senior director of business intelligence, will continue to oversee business intelligence and report to Collins.

Collins predicted the changes will help drive additional distance between Ingram Micro and its competitors with regard to VentureTech and other Ingram Micro communities including the Ingram Micro Service Network, SMB Alliance and the Government and Education partner offerings. "You'll see us with even more energy and investment around customer communities," he said.

Ron Cook, president of Connecting Point of Las Vegas, a member of Ingram Micro's VentureTech network, said the restructuring is good news for VARs. "Wiser is an outstanding executive," Cook said. "He is a great listener and has been a strong advocate for VARs. I think he'll do a great job."

Brian Okun, director of marketing at Chips Computer Consulting, Lake Success, N.Y., said Wiser's U.S. sales experience will be critical in helping solution providers and manufacturers team up to "grow our business and increase our market share. Wiser really understands what solution providers need to be successful."

Ingram Micro is currently looking for a replacement for Wiser. Peter DiMarco and Joe Gruca, who worked closely with Wiser, are currently heading up the U.S. VAR sales effort. Gruca, area vice president, VAR South, is overseeing West Coast VAR sales, while DiMarco, area vice president, VAR North, is overseeing East Coast VAR sales as well as e-solutions sales and business development.