F5 bids farewell to Coates

UK boss departs as application delivery vendor unveils new EMEA VP

F5 Networks has confirmed that UK head Paul Coates has left after four years in the role, as partners hailed his instrumental role in growing the application delivery vendor's business.

Coates joined the US-based vendor as sales director for UK and Ireland from Foundry Networks in January 2005, but is understood to have left voluntarily for personal reasons.

F5 said its UK and Ireland team would now report directly into new vice president of EMEA sales, Thorsten Freitag, who recently replaced John Williams.

“All channel partners have been informed of this change and it is business as usual at F5,” an F5 representative said.

F5 partners have been told that long-serving F5 salesman Adrian Crawley has stepped up to run the operation on an interim basis.

The vendor counts Integralis, Affiniti, Vistorm, Nebulas Solutions Group and Computacenter among its key UK partners.

Nick Garlick, managing director of Nebulas, said F5 had grown to be one of the VAR's top three vendor partners.

"Since Paul came on board he has been instrumental in helping to build F5's UK business and extremely supportive in us becoming one of F5's leading UK partners. It is a great shame he is going," he said.

Kay Bruen, UK managing director of F5 distributor Westcon Security, said: “We are very sorry to see Paul go as he was supportive of distribution and the channel in general, and very knowledgeable. But getting new blood in is not necessarily a bad thing as it can bring fresh ideas and impetus.”

It is thought that Coates may take some time off before returning to the channel in Q2.