Centerprise reshuffle signals strategy shift
Garry Stevens takes the helm as firm eyes September deadline to complete restructure
Centerprise International is hurtling forward with a transformation of the company to create what it has termed the “new Centerprise International” by 1 September.
Garry Stevens, who joined the firm in May 2006 as chief operating officer, has now become managing director, replacing Richard Pursey who, according to Stevens, will be working with Centerprise’s founder and chairman, Rafi Razzak, on special projects.
“Richard will be taking on a chief executive-type role and will work with Rafi to assess various investments around the group to see if they’re worth building on,” Stevens said.
He also revealed that an ‘extensive restructure’ is currently underway at Centerprise, which involves both a transformation of the business and a realignment of staff.
“We are working towards creating the new Centerprise International,” he said. “Rafi has been working towards this for the past three years, but activity has definitely stepped up in the past six months as we move closer to our 1 September deadline.
“No redundancies are planned, but we need to align people to roles that suit them,” Stevens added.
These realignments include Stuart Green, Centerprise’s strategy director, who has already been appointed as director of new business with a remit to drive new technology markets.
The system builder will stay in the business of hardware, but Stevens admitted it would no longer be a core focus. “Managed services around some of the systems integration, plus disaster recovery and back-up through our Adams Continuity business, are going to be our main areas of focus,” he said. “The strategy is to grow as much as we can organically and where we feel it’s right, we will acquire.”
Nick Boardman, managing director of rival system builder Rock, said: “Times are changing for system builders; we underwent a restructure two years ago and went from 60 staff to 35. We saw the market getting tougher at the entry level and in education so stopped making products aimed at these sectors and began focusing solely on the high-end.”