Ward bows out as Wick Hill boss

Managing director Ken Ward set to retire from VAD after 20 years at the helm

UK-based security VAD Wick Hill has announced its managing director Ken Ward is retiring after 20 years in the role.

Although stepping down from his management position, Ward will continue to work on projects as an adviser for Wick Hill as the distributor continues its plans for EMEA expansion.

"Wick Hill has evolved over the years, getting bigger and stronger in different areas and the business is in excellent hands," said Ward. "As part of Rigby Private Equity, and alongside Zycko, I'm sure the company will go on to greater things and become a major player in Europe."

According to Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of Wick Hill, the firm will not look for another managing director, as it now adopts a regional management structure that instead appoints a director for each region.

"[Ward] has been instrumental in the growth of Wick Hill, both in the UK and DACH regions, and in laying the foundations for our future growth, as well as developing the Wick Hill way of doing business," said Kilpatrick. "Ken and I complement each other well. I was front of house and Ken was back of house, making sure that everything worked."

Wick Hill claims Ward (pictured) worked closely with Kilpatrick in the firm's growth to its current £100m turnover.

Backed by Rigby Private Equity Group (RPE), Wick Hill recently opened an office in Vienna alongside its stablemate networking VAD Zycko in an effort to strengthen its EMEA foothold.

Paul Eccleston, head of RPE, recently revealed that Wick Hill and Zycko have secured new vendors through the joint Viennese office, and the aim is to grow revenue and employee numbers "significantly" in the next 18 months.

Wick Hill and Zycko jointly cover 13 European countries, including the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Hungary.