Equanet management decimated by Kelway axe
Seven of nine Equanet's senior executives have left the VAR alongside more than half the total workforce
Only two out of nine senior managers at recently acquired Equanet have survived a Kelway restructure which saw the firm's entire workforce more than halved.
Of the 230 Equanet staff which were brought over in the acquisition, only around 100 remain, the VAR confirmed, with sources close to the company claiming that most of the senior-level managers have also been let go.
It is unclear which managers stayed and went, but the firm's former commercial director Mark Garrett, who joined just a year ago, confirmed he was one of those who left on his LinkedIn page - but declined to comment further when contacted by CRN. It is thought former Equanet managing director Felix Stauber was retained by Dixons, so was not part of the seven which left.
Kelway confirmed the former Bury home of the newly acquired firm will close, with the remaining staff transferring to a new central Manchester facility along with 300 new starters, which it hopes to lure in from rival firms alongside its plans to develop new talent.
Kelway's sales director Jonathan Valdes said that post-acquisition restructuring was "inevitable".
He told CRN: "To create the sort of performance culture we've enjoyed at Kelway, a restructure was inevitable - pruning back the tangle revealed some incredible talent and allows the team to grow back stronger and healthier.
"A leaner, more agile and higher-performing business gives us a platform to invest in our go-forward team like never before."
Kelway unveiled its plans to open a Manchester hub when it closed the Equanet deal in April, and today claimed it will be a flagship base, offering a proof-of-concept centre as well as demonstration and conference facilities.
The new Manchester hub will bolster Kelway's presence in the UK and will complement the facilities it has in London, Exeter, Basingstoke, Peterbourough, Swansea, Belfast, Nottingham and Huntington.
Valdes claimed that there has been no real choice for mid-market clients and ambitious account managers in the Manchester area for some time, and added that the "huge investment" in the northern base "is just one of many similar investments on the horizon".