Vallee takes final Avnet bow after 35 years

Former CEO to depart boardroom set-up after 18-month transition process as William Schumann assumes chairmanship

After 35 years, Roy Vallee is to take his final bow at Avnet, being replaced as chairman of the distributor's board by William Schumann.

Vallee (pictured left) served the firm as chief executive for 13 years, before stepping down a little over a year ago, to be replaced by Rick Hamada. Since then he has held the position of non-executive chairman and been given the task of overseeing the leadership handover.

He has now announced his intention to retire from the company entirely and commence "the next step in my personal journey". Providing he is successfully elected by his other board members, Schumann will slide into the chairman's seat in November.

The soon-to-be chairman is executive vice president of energy technology specialist FMC Technologies, and has been a part of Avnet's boardroom set-up since 2010.

"Since joining the Avnet board of directors I have been impressed with the calibre of Avnet's leadership and its thoughtful approach to profitable growth and expansion," said Schumann (pictured below). "Roy Vallee set the bar high and inspired great performance. I am honoured and excited at the opportunity to serve as the next chairman of Avnet's board of directors."

Vallee joined Avnet in 1977 and, within 15 years, was the company's chief operating officer and sat on its board. He took the chief executive's reins towards the end of the 1990s and, under his stewardship, sales grew fourfold as the company became the $25bn-plus colossus it is today. Hamada saluted his predecessor's achievements.

"Roy's leadership and vision have guided Avnet to be recognised as the clear leader in our industry," he said. "While he will be missed, his active contributions to our smooth transitions have prepared us well for the next steps in Avnet's journey. We understand and respect his decisions and we wish him the best in his future endeavours."

Vallee added: "My career with Avnet has been both an honour and a privilege. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to lead this incredible company and excellent board of directors. Now that the smooth leadership transition is being completed, it is time for the next step in my personal journey. I am very confident that the leadership of Avnet is stronger than ever and that our world-class global team will drive Avnet to new heights."