After six months without a leader, Avnet Partner Solutions has appointed Gavin Miller to head up its Canadian operations as vice-president and GM.
Miller, who left Xwave Solutions three days before his official start date at APS, hopes to bring his 11 years of channel experience to his new position.
He replaces Michael Gavarkovs, former GM in Canada for APS, then known as Avnet Hall-Mark.
“”I bring a unique perspective,”” said Miller, who served in several executive positions at Xwave including vice-president of sales and, most recently, head of marketing and business development. “”I come from a VAR so I know what the business partners are looking for.
“”I also have perspective on how they’re looking to grow their business in the Canadian market. Looking at the value that Avnet Partner Solutions brings, I feel that I can talk to the partners and help them grow their business more profitably.””
To date Miller has been meeting with his U.S. counterparts in Phoenix, and receiving training on the company’s corporate goals and objectives for North America.
In his new role, Miller is responsible for growing sales of APS hardware and software through partnerships with VARs, system integrators and ISV. Major vendors include HP, Microsoft, EMC, IBM, Network Appliance, Oracle and Veritas.
Avnet’s North American reseller operations was changed to APS in August. The changes were made to reflect the company’s shift from a point-product to a solutions-based distributor.
Prior to joining Avnet, Miller was responsible for Xwave’s strategic partnerships with IBM and HP.
“”I believe that Avnet Partner Solutions has the tools and experience that help develop and position those solution providers more appropriately in the market,”” said Miller.
“”I like the focus that Avnet’s taken with enterprise-level systems. It’s something that I have a fair bit of experience with given the customer base I’ve gone after historically.””
Miller, who hails from the East Coast, is looking forward to living in Toronto. “”I think that’s certainly important to the partners who have their head offices in Toronto,”” he said.
Before joining APS, he contacted Tech Data Canada president Rick Reid for advice. Miller has come to know Reid over the last several years when he was at Xwave. Reid told Miller the pros and the cons of the job. “”In his mind, which is totally his prerogative, he saw the pros as outweighing the cons and the rest is history.”” Reid added that making the transition from the East Coast to big city life will be a bit of an adjustment.
“”Avnet has been and continues to be a very large customer of ours. It’s pleasing to know that in Gavin’s new role that he’ll continue to be a good customer of mine,”” said Reid. “”At the same time he’s clearly a competitor in certain areas. Avnet has always been a very professional competitor against us particularly in the area of enterprise storage.””
