Bass bussed in to boss Lenovo's channel - sources

Former CMS Distributor director to start in role on 2 September, according to sources

Lenovo is close to unveiling former CMS Distribution director Andy Bass as its new channel boss, CRN understands.

Channel veteran and former Toshiba exec Bass has been at CMS Distribution for only 10 months, after he was drafted in last October to help the distributor with its mission to double its turnover to £500m by 2020.

A source CRN spoke to said he believed Bass is set to become Lenovo's new UK channel boss.

"Darren Phelps left around two months ago and is now starting to look for his next role," said the source, who did not wish to be named. "At the moment Leigh Saunders, Darren's second in command, is covering the channel while they looked for someone new. That would suggest that Andy would come in and run the Lenovo channel in the UK."

Update: After CRN went to press, a representative from Lenovo confirmed Andy Bass is joining the company as its director of channel and SMB.

Bass is understood to be starting at Lenovo on 2 September and will be in charge of about 40 people.

He was previously at Toshiba for 24 years, most recently holding the position of executive vice president of Europe from 2011 and 2014. Before he joined CMS Distribution, Bass was vice president of EMEA at consultancy firm OpenSymmetry from March 2014 to September 2014.

Bass' arrival would also not be the first personnel change at Lenovo in recent weeks, with David McQuarrie appointed the new UK boss in June. And back in April former HP exec Eric Cador was drafted in as the new head of EMEA.

Kieran O'Connor, sales director at Total Computer Networks, said he was excited to see Bass move to Lenovo.

"Andy is a great character and I look forward to working with him at Lenovo where I am sure he will have a positive impact," he said.

When contacted, Lenovo said it could neither confirm nor deny Bass' arrival. CMS Distribution was unable to comment on the matter as we went press.