Scott's brief tenure at Ingram comes to end

Exclusive Meinie Oldersma transferred from European role to oversee day-to-day running.

Ingram Micro moved quickly this week to find a successor to managingday-to-day running. director Sandy Scott, who departed suddenly on Monday.

In a statement to PC Dealer, Robert Grambo, European president of Ingram, confirmed that Scott had left the distributor and thanked him for his contribution. He added: 'Ingram is also delighted to announce the appointment of Meinie Oldersma as the new UK managing director with immediate effect.' Oldersma was previously purchasing director for Ingram Micro Europe. Grambo refused to further discuss the reasons behind Scott's departure.

One source said: 'It is a shame that he has gone because he has been messing things up royally for Ingram, which has meant that we have benefited in terms of sales.'

Alison Heath, sales director at Kingston Technologies, said: 'I am surprised that he has gone because the perception was that Scott was turning things around. I think that putting everyone in one place at the call centre was good, but the one pressure is market share. I don't think that his departure was the answer.'

Adele Knox-Roberts, distribution manager at Microsoft, said: 'We have seen better staff training and service since the call centre was set up nine months ago. When I spoke to him last week, it was business as usual.'

Ingram Micro has been accused by resellers of not being quick enough to adapt to their needs. Observers commented that it was Scott's background of healthcare that meant the organisation did not move fast enough.

Scott joined the distributor from healthcare giant PPP in March 1998, becoming one of the most senior managers in the industry to hold a position without any IT background.

During the first six months of his appointment, almost 100 staff left the distributor, including two vice presidents of sales, Lloyd Pinder and Mike Watkins.

It was estimated that Ingram Micro had spent £5 million on its call centre, but one observer said: 'It was unbelievable how much money has been spent on it.' Another added that Ingram needed to get to a sensible cost base, as its overheads are too high. It was estimated that further job cuts - about 100 - could be made at the distributor.

Ingram Micro US has suffered recently as the pressure on margins has taken hold on the distribution market. In March, the distributor announced that it would cut its global workforce by 10 per cent to cut costs.