Greg Spierkel, CEO, Ingram Micro
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If Ingram Micro CEO Greg Spierkel hadn't made it in the IT business, he probably would have gone and joined the circus. The Cirque du Soleil, that is.
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The technology executive's uncle founded the acrobatic spectacle, but early on Spierkel, 49, decided to forge his own path and, so far, it's paying off. With the announcement last month that the distributor would be reselling hosted managed services and partnering with MSP
maker LPI Level Partners, Spierkel was making good on his promise to take the company in new directions when he took the helm in April 2005.
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In addition to taking on managed services, the Santa Ana, Calif.-based distributor is making a bet on the convergence of processing,
and entertainment technologies and in July 2005 acquired Avad, an alliance of regional home/custom electronics distributors. In the third quarter, sales were up 7.9 percent to $7.51 billion while profits jumped 21 percent, and Spierkel thinks the fourth quarter will be even better.
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But that isn't the only reason why some people ask him why he's always smiling. "This is a fun place to work in, and the energy level is positive," he says. "I lead a stressful life, but I don't let it show. Nor should I. Otherwise I shouldn't be doing what I'm doing."