Synnex Hires Ex-Ingram President As Co-CEO

Synnex has hired former Ingram Micro president and COO Kevin Murai as co-CEO with the intention of having him succeed founder Bob Huang as CEO this November.

Huang intends to retire as CEO at the end of Synnex's fiscal year, Nov. 3, but retain the title of chairman. Murai will become the sole CEO and lead the company going forward, pending approval of the board of directors. Murai was also named a member of the board, effective immediately.

"Bob [Huang] has done an amazing job in creating Synnex and taking it to where it is right now. I feel fortunate to take reins from him," Murai said. "When the opportunity came around, it was a great fit. I've always had respect for Synnex and for Bob. When you take a look at how the company is positioned today, particularly as they transform the business to get into areas like consumer electronics, BPO [business process outsourcing] services, technology solutions, I think we're headed down the right path."

Murai stepped down as Ingram Micro's president and COO on Jan. 4 after announcing plans to leave the Santa Ana, Calif.-based distributor in July 2007. At the time, he cited family reasons for his departure. His family had moved back to Toronto and Murai was flying back and forth to California.

He told ChannelWeb last July, "I was commuting as much as I could as well as trying to do my job for at least some periods of time remotely, and I really had to make the decision."

But Murai will be racking up the frequent-flier miles again, as he will be based out of Synnex's Fremont, Calif., headquarters, while his family stays in Canada.

"My focus really has been spending time with my family. In the past few months, we've done a lot of things, gone on a couple of vacations. But I always knew I had to look for what my next chapter would be. I was not actively looking, I fielded few calls, but when Bob [Huang] wanted to talk more seriously, things moved relatively fast."

Murai said he considered a few opportunities, but the Synnex opportunity was too good to pass up.

"I knew I wanted to run something. I didn't have the CEO title or president in mind, but I knew I wanted to be an influential factor in leading a company," he said.

Murai spent nearly 20 years with Ingram Micro, so he said it will be a little strange working for a former competitor. "On one hand, it will be [weird]. That's only natural. But at the same time, I have a better understanding now of the culture at Synnex. So I don't have any concerns," he said.

Murai said he did not have a non-compete or a non-solicit clause when he left Ingram Micro, but his hiring at Synnex likely will come as a shock to some former co-workers and solution providers. He does not expect his former company to hold any ill will and he does not plan to recruit any Ingram Micro employees to Synnex.

"That is not something I would be expected to do," he said. "I left Ingram on very, very good terms. There's a lot of mutual respect between the two companies and on a personal side, I still have a lot of very good friends within the [Ingram] organization. I think they'll understand," Murai said.

Murai said he'll spend his first few weeks reengaging with vendors and solution providers to get their respective views of the company. He doesn't plan to make any immediate changes to the company's direction.

"The good news is the company is doing very well, there aren't any burning issues, or existing issues," Murai said. "We have the pending acquisition of New Age, that's exciting. If we speak in another 90 days, I'll probably have more to say on where we need to take it forward. The company has been doing a great job. Bob has set a solid agenda."

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