Datalink CEO, CFO, EVP to Leave Following Insight Acquisition
Three of Datalink's top four executives – including CEO Paul Lidsky – will leave the company as part of Insight Enterprises' $258 million acquisition of the business, according to regulatory filings.
Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Datalink, No. 45 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, disclosed that COO Shawn O'Grady would lead Datalink's enterprise data center field business after the Insight deal closes. O'Grady will report to Steve Dodenhoff, president of Insight U.S., according to filings late Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Insight's acquisition of Datalink is expected to close in January.
Lidsky, who has served as Datalink's president and CEO since July 2009, will remain onboard through the first quarter of 2017 to support and guide the ongoing integration process. Lidsky will receive a $200,000 cash bonus if he serves as a consultant for at least 60 days after the deal closes, according to SEC filings.
Greg Barnum, Datalink's VP of administration and its CFO since February 2006, will exit the business, as will Patty Hamm, Datalink's EVP of human resources since September 2014. Both Hamm and Barnum will support all efforts through the closing of the Insight acquisition, according to the SEC filing.
Datalink's final named executive – Chief Accounting Officer, Vice President and Corporate Controller, Denise Westenfield – will receive a $90,000 cash bonus if she continues her employment through May 31, 2017. Westenfield will also receive a cash severance payment of $90,000 if she is involuntarily terminated without cause following the acquisition, SEC filings reveal.
O'Grady joined Datalink in December 2009 as part of the Incentra acquisition and has served as Datalink's COO since January 2014. Following the close of the acquisition by Insight, No. 15 on the CRN SP 500, O'Grady will retain day-to-day management responsibilities for Datalink's sales, services and support organizations.
"Adding the strength of our platform Insight's current offerings will position the combined company to solve complex business problems for our expanded footprint of clients, giving us additional opportunities to help more organizations transform their IT," said O'Grady in a videotaped message to employees, a transcript of which was filed with the SEC.
Insight intends to keep Datalink's organizational structure intact, though Datalink's services practice – which accounts for 30 percent of its $771 million in annual sales – will be united with Insight's services practice, according to SEC filings. Datalink's professional, consulting, managed and OneCall technical support services will expand Insight's North American services scale by more than 75 percent.
After closing, the business will be known as "Datalink: An Insight Company" until the combined company can executive a thoughtful and intention brand and culture integration plan, according to SEC filings. Insight and Datalink hope to integrate all of their processes and systems within the 2017 calendar year, according to the filing.
Insight and Datalink share strong partner relationships with Cisco, NetApp, Veritas, VMware, EMC and Palo Alto Networks, according to an employee letter from Lidsky and Insight CEO Ken Lamneck that was filed with the SEC. Cisco is Insight's third largest vendor, SEC filings state, accounting for 11 percent of its overall sales in 2015.
From a services standpoint, combining Datalink's technology and operations services with Insight's strong applications, consulting, technical and managed support will create one of the most comprehensive service offerings and deepest talent pools in the channels, Lidsky said in a letter to Datalink's vendor partners filed with the SEC.
"The union of our two strong organizations creates one of the most comprehensive offerings in the IT industry," Lidsky wrote in the letter. "We are committed to being your data center of the future partner."