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Avnet Names Interim CEO; Rick Hamada Exits Distributor

Avnet CEO William Amelio
William Amelio

In a surprise move, Avnet has named William Amelio as its interim CEO and cut its Q4 earnings outlook. Amelio replaces Rick Hamada, who is "stepping down from his position at the company and on the Board of Directors."

> Related: Avnet hires executive search firm to find permanent CEO, ChannelE2E confirms

Avnet did not say why Hamada is leaving the distribution company. Amelio, an Avnet board member, previously was president and CEO of CHC Group Ltd., an international oil-field services company. Earlier he was CEO of Lenovo, and a senior VP for Dell. Amelio also is an IBM veteran.

Avnet also provided an updated outlook for its fourth fiscal quarter ended July 2, 2016. Sales are currently expected to be in the range of $6.15 billion to $6.25 billion, which is near the midpoint of the company’s previous sales guidance of $6.25 billion, Avnet said.

Avnet Earnings Shortfall: ERP Problems?

However, adjusted diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range of $0.80 to $0.86 compared to the previous guidance of $0.95 to $1.05. This shortfall was impacted primarily by an ERP implementation in the Americas region of the Electronics Marketing operating group, the distributor said. Shares are down about 2.4 percent on the news.

The company will provide additional fiscal details when it reports its results for the fourth fiscal quarter in August 2016, Avnet indicated.

Like many distributors, Avnet has embraced a digital transformation strategy in recent years. After building out the Avnet Cloud Marketplace, the company has been introducing digital and IoT solutions across its partner ecosystem.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.