Two of Exertis Enterprise’s top team are leaving to join rival Titan Data Solutions, IT Channel Oxygen understands.
Phil Browne and Matthew Croucher will join Canary Wharf-based data storage distributor Titan on 2 January as VP of Sales and CFO, respectively, according to our sources.
They had been at Exertis Enterprise and predecessor brand Hammer for 22 and 19 years, respectively, according to their LinkedIn profiles.
The duo, who currently hold the roles of Exertis Enterprise Sales Director and Finance Director, have now gone on gardening leave.
Titan CEO Ben Jackson has in the past expressed his admiration for the historic Hammer business, calling it Titan’s “inspiration”
Exertis acquired Hammer for £38.3m in 2016, rebranding it as Exertis Enterprise in 2020. Today, Exertis Enterprise carries over 60 vendors, including Fujitsu, NVIDIA, SonicWall, Dell and Microsoft.
Founded in 2018 and with fiscal 2024 revenues of £30m, Titan counts Scale Computing, Seagate Systems, Quantum, Supermicro and Hammerspace among its vendors.
Titan’s evolution into an edge-to-cloud specialist has enabled it to “lure such senior heads as Phil and Matt, who will come in and accelerate their growth exponentially”, one onlooker in the distribution space remarked.
Exertis informed staff of Browne and Croucher’s imminent departure last week.
In a statement sent to IT Channel Oxygen, Jason Chibnall, Managing Director of Exertis Enterprise, said: “Matt and Phil will be leaving Exertis Enterprise in the new year for a different opportunity in the channel, and I would like to wish them all the best in their future careers. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them for their contribution and loyalty on Exertis Enterprise’s journey.”
While declining to confirm or deny the double hire, Jackson issued IT Channel Oxygen with the following statement:
“When we were writing the business plan for Titan back in 2018, Exertis Enterprise were our inspiration. So to have the opportunity to work with someone like Matt and Phil after 20-plus years at Hammer and Exertis would be an honour.”
