Northern European VAR-MSP powerhouse Advania today unveiled a permanent UK CEO in the form of Annette Murphy.
Advania UK has for most of 2026 been headed up on a caretaker basis by group CEO Hege Støre as a permanent successor to James Hardy was sought.
Here we round up five fast facts about former Colt exec Murphy’s appointment.
1. CEO puzzle solved
Murphy’s arrival brings a feeling of closure to a period of exec transition at Advania UK, which ranked tenth in Oxygen 250 2026 and generates more than a quarter of Sweden-based Advania’s top line.
She is in effect Advania UK’s fourth CEO inside a year following Geoff Kneen’s resignation last September, James Hardy’s brief spell in charge and Støre’s interim CEO reign.
Her appointment also follows the arrival in May of Ian Goodfellow as MD of Advania UK’s VAR business.
2. Telco track record
Murphy has held senior commercial posts at a string of telcos, most recently occupying the COO role at Colt Technology Services.
Before that, she spent nearly three years at Lumen (including a stint as its EMEA President) and seven years in various positions at Zayo Group.
“Annette has an outstanding track record of leading technology businesses through growth and transformation,” Støre stated.
“Her commercial experience, customer focus and commitment to building high-performing teams make her the right leader for Advania UK as we enter our next phase.”
3. Bossing a near-£500m business
Murphy takes charge of an Advania UK operation that more than doubled revenues in 2025 on the back of its 2024 double swoop on VARs Servium and CCS Media.
Advania UK’s top line hit SEK 5.84bn (£471m) last year as the wider, Goldman Sachs-backed business’ gross revenues rose to SEK 21.15bn (£1.71bn).
The Cisco, Microsoft, HPE and VMware ally generated 71% of its 2025 UK top line from hardware and software sales, with managed services and professional services contributing 23% and 6%, respectively.
4. A gander at gender balance
With Støre the acting UK CEO, this was already the case, but Murphy’s arrival cements the fact that women now make up 50% of Advania UK’s SLT.
Her appointment follows those of Sabrina Harris as CFO and Tara Allison as CMO in April.
Advania UK’s new-look, eight-strong SLT – which also includes Thea Fineren as Chief Human Resource Officer – can be viewed here.
5. Sovereign AI swagger
Murphy joins shortly after Advania launched its sovereign AI platform, Advania ALT, in seven markets, including the UK.
Designed to give UK organisations greater control over how AI is deployed, where sensitive data is held and which AI models are used, Advania ALT was bigged up by Murphy in her canned PR comment.
“Advania ALT represents an important part of where the market is heading, particularly as organisations look for ways to use AI while keeping control of their data,” Murphy stated.
“I’m looking forward to building on that foundation and taking the business into its next phase. Together, we have a significant opportunity to help organisations navigate change and realise greater value from technology.”
