Former Sapphire Systems CEO Vince DeLuca joins Six Degrees as new chief exec

DeLuca steps in as previous Six Degrees boss Simon Crawley-Trice departs.

Six Degrees has named Vince DeLuca as its new chief executive officer, replacing Simon Crawley-Trice.

The outgoing CEO has spent nearly four years at the cloud services provider, first as managing director of its Practice Group for eight months until being promoted to the top role, which he served in for more than three years.

"It's incredible to reflect on what we have achieved in this time. We set a clear vision to become the UK's number one secure, integrated cloud services provider, and repointed our incredible portfolio to align with the needs of businesses today," said Crawley-Trice.

"We improved our operating efficiency as a business many times over, and now as I hand over the baton I am excited to see what the amazing Six Degrees team can do. Thank you and good luck to Six Degrees! I'm very much looking forward to my next challenge, but I will never forget what we have accomplished together."

DeLuca joins Six Degrees from Sapphire Systems where he led as CEO for three-and-a-half years, taking the business to the point of acquisition by NTT DATA at the tail end of last year.

Even before Sapphire, DeLuca was a seasoned CEO, having spent almost eight years in the top job at fellow channel company Logicalis.

Commenting on his new venture, DeLuca stresses the importance of businesses placing digital transformation at the heart of their strategies.

"Optimised cloud services, intelligence-led security, and agile connectivity between workplaces and workspaces are no longer nice-to-haves – they are essential," he said.

"With our expertise in secure cloud technology and our fantastic connectivity roots, Six Degrees has every right to be the go-to digital transformation partner for UK businesses. I am excited to join the team and work to make that happen."

Executive shuffle continues

Six Degrees paid homage to outgoing CEO Crawley-Trice for his "invaluable leadership" and contribution throughout his three-year tenure.

"We thank Simon for his leadership over the past several years as Six Degrees set out on a path to become the UK's leading secure integrated cloud services provider," said Michael Choe, MD and CEO of Six Degrees owner, Charlesbank.

"We have known Vince for a long time and have been impressed with his leadership in delivering digital transformation solutions to enterprises across the globe. We are confident he will continue to drive the Six Degrees business forward."

This is the latest in a handful of new C-suite joiners from CRN Top VARs companies for Six Degrees, which itself earned the 55th spot.

Earlier this month the London-HQ service provider welcomed Brendan Lynch as its new chief revenue officer from fellow MSP FluidOne, ranked 59 in CRN's rundown of the UK's top 100 resellers by revenue.

Sapphire Systems landed at number 83 this year, while aforementioned Logicalis came in at number 96.