Paul Eccleston lands Exclusive Networks UK&I MD role

Exclusive Networks has looked for experience for its latest managing director UK&I, rolling out the red carpet to Paul Eccleston.

His name should be familiar to many across the channel given his CV, which notably includes founding Nuvias in 2015 as well as spells at Computacenter, SCC and TechData. Eccleston joins the distributor from  Zscaler, where he was vp international channels & alliances.

While he was at the helm at Nuvias, Eccleston spearheaded the development of a business, like Exclusive Networks, that was driven by a focus on security as well as networking and unified comms, giving him plenty of experience of the markets in which his new employer operates.

Exclusive has been searching for a UK&I managing director since Graham Jones announced his retirement back in May, calling time on a 45-year career. Eccleston starts with immediate effect.

“The appointment of someone of Paul’s calibre is a true testament to the power of the Exclusive brand and a real statement of intent as we continue to execute our successful growth strategy,” said Jesper Trolle, CEO at Exclusive Networks.

“Having known Paul for 10 years, he has a strong entrepreneurial business acumen combined with an intimate knowledge and understanding of the evolving channel ecosystem, disruptive technologies, new consumption models and innovative services. This is an extremely rare mix of qualities and I am really excited to see him joining Exclusive as we embark on our next phase of growth.”

From Eccleston’s perspective, the move is not just an opportunity to get back into distribution, but to also lean on a career that has produced expertise at a vendor level and in the security market – a key area for Exclusive.

“Cyber security is one of the defining technologies of our generation and Exclusive Networks has become synonymous with cyber security services in the channel in recent years,” he said. “I am really looking forward to working with the team to maximise growth opportunities, evolve our ecosystem, deliver service excellence, and create value for our vendors and partners.”

Eccleston comes into a business that has demonstrated growth since going public and recently reported a solid set of second-quarter numbers.

The channel player recorded a 43% increase in gross sales, topping €1bn, with growth in major regions, including 43% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 36% in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and 46% in the Americas.

The company achieved particularly strong growth in the UK and Germany as the enterprise market accelerated during the quarter.