Datatec has appointed distribution veteran John Hurrell as chief executive of Westcon Middle East and Africa (WAME), the South African arm of its networking and convergence technology subsidiary Westcon.
The appointment was effective from 1 August.
Hurrell (59) succeeds Terry Kelly who left WAME last month to pursue a management buyout of two of its divisions, Datanet and Westcon Cabinet Manufacturers. WAME`s new chief executive joins the company after stints at Duxbury and Data Office Network. He was also at ICL for 31 years, leading the multinational`s buyout of Lonnet, which operated in the same markets as WAME. Hurrell became managing director of Lonnet.
"I was attracted to WAME by the challenge it offers. I love the distribution and trading game. The sales people should be trading every minute of every day; there should be a buzz around the sales floor. I want to see that kind of excitement and keenness grow in WAME," says Hurrell.
David Pfaff, Datatec`s Group Finance Director, says he is particularly pleased to be able to announce a new chief executive for WAME so soon after the departure of Kelly.
"John`s decades of experience come with not only a fine understanding of the distribution business, but also with an excellent reputation. We expect WAME`s performance to continue improving," says Pfaff.
Hurrell sees his main tasks in straightforward terms: to increase sales and bottom line profits and to grow WAME`s market share. For Hurrell, control of stock and debtors are the essential disciplines of any distribution business.
"Distribution is not a high-margin business and you have to be absolutely wedded to the basics. From my first encounters with WAME staff, I believe we have good people who will respond to the challenge of growing this business. I am so looking forward to this opportunity," says Hurrell.
He describes his management style as built around leadership. "My guiding principles are honesty, integrity and trust, however, I can only be as good as the team, and I want everyone to feel that when someone passes them the ball they have to run with it."
Hurrell says he accepts the challenge of growth in an environment where the overall market is static. "The way things are right now, we know that to grow sales and bottom line profits means we have to grow WAME`s market share, and that`s what we`re going to do," he says.
For more about Datatec and Westcon, go to http://www.datatec.co.za or http://www.westcongroup.com.
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Datatec is an international networking and IT services group with operations in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. The group generates more than 95% of its revenue in hard currency outside SA.
The group provides active management support in the strategic direction and operation of its subsidiaries and has three principal lines of business:
Westcon, a global channel provider of advanced networking, security, data and voice communications and convergence products, based in the US and the largest distributor worldwide of equipment in this sector, with operations in many countries.
Logical, an international professional services and IT network integration group headquartered in London and with operations in more than 10 countries.
Mason, a leading European telecommunications and IT convergence consultancy providing business solutions to public and private sector organisations worldwide. Mason`s key services include strategic and business planning; procurement and outsourcing; design and engineering; programme and project management; network optimisation and training courses.
The group also has similarly focused operations in SA. These are Westcon AME, Affinity Logic and RangeGate.
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