Alex Teh leaving Infinigate but not IT security industry

Murray Pearce to become sole MD of security VAD as co-founder gets set to move back to Asia-Pacific

Alex Teh has revealed he plans to remain in the IT security industry after calling time on his 15-year stint at Infinigate.

Teh will leave the security VAD at the end of June and head back to his native Asia-Pacific, where he told CRN he will hunt for his next business opportunity in the sector.

Teh founded Infinigate UK, originally Vigil Software, in 2001 with business partner Murray Pearce, who will become the firm's sole managing director on Teh's departure. It is more than three years since Infinigate acquired Vigil, meaning both Teh and Pearce have completed their earn-outs.

"The main difference [between me and Alex] is that I'm permanently settled in the UK and over the last three and a half years of working with Infinigate I've become increasingly happy working in the company. I really enjoy it, and believe in what I'm doing with Infinigate, so for me to stay on and lead the company through the next stage of its development is something I really wanted to do," said Pearce.

Native New Zealander Teh said he plans to move back to Auckland at the end of September.

"I will be staying in the IT security industry so I am looking at business opportunities in Asia-Pacific," he confirmed.

"I'm sad to be leaving but it's the right time for me to expand my horizons to another region."

The UK was Infinigate's fastest-growing territory in the Switzerland-headquartered VAD's fiscal 2015 - which saw group sales close in on the €300m mark - and Teh claimed he will be leaving the firm in sound shape.

"Infinigate is in a very strong position moving forward," he said.

"We were known to be a very niche specialist player and after three and a half years of working with Infinigate we are truly seen as a market leader in the UK IT security distribution space, and that's something I'm proud of."

Pearce said the "principles" of how Inifinigate does business have not changed since Vigil was acquired.

"But our ability to execute has changed enormously as part of the group," he said. "We still perform a really good role as a market-building distributor but we also now have vendors who are at a further stage of development where we are really well equipped to accelerate their growth, and we've added that on top of what we were already doing."