Alex Tatham has confirmed to IT Channel Oxygen that he is leaving Westcoast following its decision to merge with ALSO.
The distribution stalwart’s last day at the £4bn-revenue distributor will be next Wednesday.
“I’m taking the opportunity, with the change of ownership and all the changes going on at Westcoast, to make a big change myself,” he told IT Channel Oxygen.
ALSO and Westcoast turned over a respective €11.1bn and £4.2bn in their latest years, meaning their combined sales will rival European market leader TD Synnex’s $19.4bn tally.
Westcoast currently whitelables ALSO Cloud Marketplace in the UK.
Talking to IT Channel Oxygen yesterday, analyst heavyweight Steve Brazier said the deal had been “an obvious move for a long time”.
“Not the same business”
Tatham acknowledged that Westcoast “won’t be the same business” now it is joining a larger group.
Chairman Joe Hemani’s decision to take a step back from running the UK business loomed large in Tatham’s thought process.
“I think it’s massive for the business. Westcoast has always been a bastion of independence and doing things differently, at an incredible pace,” he said.
“In the short-term, there will be some inevitable changes, quite rightly so, but it won’t be the same business.”
Tatham returned to Westcoast last June following a brief spell at NSC Global. He originally joined the Theale-based outfit as its sales and marketing director back in 2009, before becoming MD in 2014.
The popular industry figure became a Morning TV star in November after a video he featured in went viral on TikTok.
Does Tatham plan to stay in the industry?
“Absolutely,” he responded.
“I love the IT industry. I love Joe. And I love everything about what we’ve built. It’s been absolutely magnificent and I take delight in the fact it’s been sold very well, to a very good business.”
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
