Former Computacenter director Neil Eke was this morning unveiled as the new UK CEO of Logicalis after predecessor Alex Louth announced his exit.
In a LinkedIn post on Friday (see below), Louth revealed he is departing his role as UK&I MD after deciding late last year that “a change would be good for me and for Logicalis”.
Louth deconstructed his own post, noting that a leaving message must communicate one’s departure “in the right way for you and the business”, “thank a bunch of people”, and “end with a teaser”.
Following that exact formula, Louth acknowledged that there had been “good, bad and ugly moments” during his five-year tenure, thanked key vendors IBM, NetApp and Cisco as well as the Logicalis UK&I team, and teased that news on his next step will “come soon”.
Logicalis ranked 112th in IT Channel Oxygen’s inaugural Oxygen 250 as its UK business returned to growth in its year to 28 February 2023 (albeit revenues grew by just £18,000 to £46.6m). 2022 acquisition Q Associates, which was hived up into the company on 1 March 2023, will provide Logicalis with “more key technology offerings” and “strengthen its higher education presence”, it said.
Eke’s arrival
Incoming UK&I CEO (note the slightly different job title) Eke spent 12 years at Computacenter, latterly in the role of Director, Solutions UK&I. He also worked at HPE.
“Neil’s strategic acumen, combined with his industry expertise and dedication to fostering talent and a culture of diversity, make him the perfect choice to lead Logicalis UK&I,” Logicalis CEO Robert Bailkoski said in a statement.
In a LinkedIn post a month ago, Eke noted he was leaving Computacenter just as it was smashing through the £10bn sales mark.
“Logicalis is home to exceptional talent across all facets of the business,” Eke stated today.
“As businesses navigate digital acceleration, I’m looking forward to supporting our customers by unlocking the full potential of digital transformation in their business.”
In an interview with IT Channel Oxygen in September, Louth revealed that part of his bonus had been linked to sustainability as part of a wider drive on the topic by Logicalis.
“I am now on gardening leave (painter and decorator leave is a better term for me) for a few months which I plan to enjoy,” Louth wrote in his social media missive on Friday.
