Fox scampers towards SICL exit doors

Cliff Fox says it was the right time to resign as managing director of Leeds VAR

The managing director of SICL plans to stay in the industry after resigning from the Leeds-based reseller.

Cliff Fox handed in his notice last week, seven years after SICL founder Ashley Woodman drafted him in to run the Cisco, Dell and Riverbed partner.

Talking to CRN, Fox (pictured) said it was the right time to move on, emphasising that SICL's turnover had swelled from under £2m to over £5m during his tenure.

"Financially, the company is very sound and we've now got strength and depth with personnel - there are now very few weaknesses," he said. "But I felt it was time for a change."

Fox will relinquish his small shareholding in SICL when he formally leaves the firm in mid-January, after which he plans to return to the channel. In the meantime, he will be on gardening leave.

"In my position I couldn't put myself out to the market as it could damage the business, so the best thing was to resign and then look for something," he said.

"My desire is to stay in the IT industry as it's the industry I know best and what I've done at SICL I've done at other places. No doubt in the new year, I will pop up somewhere else."

Fox admitted SICL's growth had slowed during the recession-plagued years of 2011 and 2012 but claimed its performance had rebounded this year.

"I'm pleased to be leaving the business when it is on a real high," he said.

Woodman enlisted Fox to help grow SICL in 2006, a decade after founding the VAR.

"It was a brave step as a lot of founder-owners don't want anyone else to run the business," Fox said. "But he recognised I could do the role better than him." Fox said his responsibilities would be allocated between SICL's board while a replacement is sought.