Avnet anoints Amelio as permanent big cheese

William Amelio given top job on permanent basis following Rick Hamada's exit

Avnet has rubber-stamped interim CEO William Amelio as its permanent leader, following the departure of Rick Hamada, who held the position for more than 30 years.

Amelio's appointment as interim CEO on 11 July came as Avnet downgraded its expectations for its fourth quarter. The firm's adjusted forecast predicts an eight per cent drop in revenue and a 20 per cent fall in operating income.

Amelio said: "For me, Avnet is all about passion and possibilities. We have an experienced management team and an engaged workforce comprised of talented employees who are dedicated to serving our customers, suppliers and partners. By better aligning these resources with our competitive solutions specialist, embedded and supply chain strengths, Avnet will undoubtedly be positioned to achieve profitable growth for our shareholders and deliver upon the ever growing market potential in our industry."

In a conference call, Amelio had previously dubbed himself a frontrunner in the board's selection for a new CEO in what he expected would be a speedy affair.

The new CEO held a board position Avnet as well as previous executive posts at IBM, Dell and Lenovo.

William Schumann, chairman of the board, said: "The board, under the leadership of the Corporate Governance Committee and with a nationally recognized executive search firm, conducted a review of both internal and external candidates that could be available and concluded that Bill is the best candidate for the CEO position. Avnet is fortunate to have someone of Bill's character and experience. He brings energy and focus to the business, and the board unanimously agreed that making him the permanent CEO was in the best interest of our customers, employees and shareholders."

Avnet committed to a $25m cost-cutting programme after legacy infrastructure sales saw declines in its third quarter, with its enterprise business enduring a 15.3 per cent decline.