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Incoming GTDC CEO stresses positive prospects for distribution
The incoming boss of the body that represents distributors has spoken of his belief that the best is yet to come from that tier of the channel
Frank Vitagliano, a former CEO of solution provider Computex, has been unveiled as the CEO of the Global Technology Distribution Council (GTDC).
He is the third CEO for the channel organisation and replaces Tim Curran who retired from the role after a 16 year stint earlier this year.
The GTDC bangs the drum for distribution and charts the position and health of that tier of the channel through research and events.
Over the last couple of years of Curran's reign the message from the organisation was that not only did distribution have a future but vendors had recognised that they needed to work more closely with their disties to achieve their growth goals.
A recent example of that theory being put into action was the establishment of a distribution channel programme by Pure Storage as the vendor looked to formalise relationships and increase support for those partners across EMEA.
In a 30 year career Vitagliano has held senior executive positions with IBM, Juniper Networks and Dell and has indicated that his convictions are that distribution is key to success.
"Direct sales were once a relentless focus for many companies, but distributors have done a tremendous job proving that their models not only work but thrive in serving solution providers in all markets and industries – from small and mid-size businesses to large enterprises," he said.
"The channel’s best years are not behind us. They are here now and ahead. The future looks incredibly bright for distributors," he added.
Distributors will get more of a chance to hear his views about the future when he takes to the stage as a keynote speaker at the GTDC EMEA Summit in Lisbon in June.
His appointment has already got the thumbs up from some senior positions in the channel with Alain Monié, GTDC chairman and CEO of global distributor Ingram Micro, welcoming his arrival.
“He brings a wealth of related experience from the entire ecosystem, including partnering with top technology distributors, OEM’s and solution providers. I’m confident Frank will excel as an extraordinary advocate of progressive partnerships in this era of unprecedented innovation and demand for high-caliber supply-chain relationships across the world," he said.
