Industry veteran Ian Goodfellow has joined Advania UK in a move its CEO characterised as a “real coup”, IT Channel Oxygen can reveal.
Former SHI, Softcat and Computacenter luminary Goodfellow started in his role as Managing Director, VAR, yesterday.
Ranking tenth in Oxygen 250 250 2026, Sweden-headquartered powerhouse Advania saw 2025 net revenues hike 22% to SEK 18.4bn (£1.48bn). It wants to double in size inside five years.
Most recently VP of Sales, Europe at SHI, Goodfellow’s CV also includes stints at Softcat and Computacenter, as well as vendors Hitachi Data Systems and Sun Microsystems.
Talking exclusively to IT Channel Oxygen, Goodfellow said Advania’s 2024 acquisitions of Servium and CCS Media have added “significant scale” for it in the UK.
“A major growth opportunity for the UK business lies in our proven ability to integrate hardware, software and services into meaningful business outcomes for customers,” he said.
“As you might expect, I’ll be spending my first week on the road, meeting teams and listening carefully.”
“A real coup”
Goodfellow takes the reins from Paul Barlow, the popular Servium CEO who served as Interim VAR Director.
His arrival marks the latest move in an ongoing UK leadership refresh at the Goldman Sachs-backed outfit, following the arrival of Sabrina Harris and Tara Allison as CFO and CMO, respectively.
Advania CEO Hege Støre remains Acting UKI CEO.
According to its recent annual report, Advania UK’s top line more than doubled to SEK 5.84bn (£471m) last year. Hardware and software sales generated 71% of the UK revenue tally (up from 36% a year previously), with managed services and professional services contributing 23% and 6%, respectively.
“Securing a leader of Ian’s calibre, with such a deep understanding of the UK competitive market, is a testament to our growing reputation,” Støre stated.
“His track record at some of our biggest competitors in building high-performing teams and his commitment to sustainable, scalable growth make him the perfect fit for our decentralised, entrepreneurial culture. We see this as a real coup.”
