Azlan boss Ian French confirms departure

Following rumours circulating at Cisco's partner event in New Orleans earlier this month, distributor confirms French is leaving

Computer 2000 (C2000) has confirmed that Ian French is to step down as head honcho of its TDAzlan business.

The news was first mooted by IT Europa on 3 March following a growing rumour at the Cisco partner event in New Orleans, but until today C2000 has maintained radio silence.

French joined Azlan last January with the remit of building a strong management team to take the business to the next stage of development.

Following his departure, he will stay working closely with Azlan as a strategic consultant with his consultancy firm Siceo and also concentrating on his charity GapAid.

In a statement, Andy Gass managing director of Computer 2000, said: "Ian joined us to perform a specific task of achieving a breakthrough with the Azlan business in terms of people calibre, a value capability and market positioning which he has done.

"We are delighted with the foundations he has built and we are now looking forward to taking Azlan onto its next stage via our continued investment in people and technology. We also have an ongoing search for a replacement for Ian to continue our investment in growing the Azlan business."

French added in a statement: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my engagement both with C2000 as a board advisor and Azlan in the UK and Europe developing next generation enterprise distribution.

"I now look forward to being a strategic advisor and consultant for Europe's leading distributor and am confident that the team I have helped to build and the foundations we have created with partners will enable Azlan to drive to huge success in the future," he said.

A leaving date has not yet been announced, C2000 confirmed.