- Bruce Thomlinson to Focus on Driving Global Strategic Initiatives for Ingram Micro Worldwide as Senior Vice President
SANTA ANA, Calif., July 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), the world's largest technology distributor and a global leader in IT supply-chain, mobile device lifecycle services and logistics solutions, today announced that Felix Wong, 46, a 20-year veteran of the mobile telecommunications and technology industries, and a former executive of BrightPoint for 12 years, has been promoted to president of Ingram Micro Mobility Asia Pacific, effective Aug. 1, 2013. Wong, who is currently vice president and managing director of South East Asia for Ingram Micro Mobility, will continue to be based in Singapore and will report to Shailendra Gupta, who assumes the newly created role heading the company's global mobility operations as senior executive vice president and president, Mobility, on Aug. 1, 2013, as announced by the company last month.
Wong brings significant experience and knowledge in telecommunications technologies and markets to his new position and has established excellent, long-term relationships with carriers, OEMs, resellers and major retailers. Wong will replace Bruce Thomlinson, current president of Ingram Micro Mobility Asia Pacific. Thomlinson will continue with Ingram Micro as senior vice president, focusing on strategic initiatives to further the company's growth in higher value businesses, including driving additional opportunities for the company's mobility businesses in the Asia Pacific region. Upon assuming his new role, Thomlinson will report to Alain Monie, Ingram Micro president and CEO. He will initially work closely with Wong and Gupta to help ensure continuity and a seamless transition.
"We are fortunate to have a highly talented group of executives ready and willing to take on new responsibilities," commented Monie. "Felix and Bruce are highly respected executives and each is recognized as an expert in the mobility and IT industries. They both bring an excellent blend of innovation and established best practices to their respective new positions and I am confident they will excel in their new roles and help Ingram Micro continue to drive solid growth, improving profitability and higher returns across our business."
Wong has held roles of increasing responsibility with Brightpoint Inc., which was acquired by Ingram Micro in October 2012, and has been successful in driving strategy and growth initiatives for the mobility distribution and device lifecycle services businesses for the Asia Pacific region. He joined the company in 2001 when Advanced Portable Technologies -- the business he founded in 1992 and grew to $25 million in annual revenues -- was acquired by BrightPoint. He has been successful in driving mobility distribution and device lifecycle services strategy and growth for the Asia Pacific region. He attended the University of New South Wales (UNSW), receiving bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering (with honors) and computer science. Wong was also awarded a graduate diploma from the Australian Graduate School of Management at UNSW and a post graduate degree in applied finance from Securities Institute of Australia.
Thomlinson has been with Ingram Micro Mobility for more than 25 years, which includes seven years at HatadiCorp, a wholesale electronics and network service provision company he owned and led prior to its acquisition by BrightPoint in 1996. He rapidly progressed within the company to senior executive roles, including managing director Australia, president Asia Pacific and president International Operations, and has been integral in helping to drive growth and profitability across the company's mobility businesses throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.
Cautionary Statement for the Purpose of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The matters in this press release that are forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations. Certain risks may cause such expectations to not be achieved and, in turn, may have a material adverse effect on Ingram Micro's business, financial condition and results of operations. Ingram Micro disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: (1) we have made and expect to continue to make investments in new businesses and initiatives, including acquisitions, which could disrupt our business and have an adverse effect on our operating results; (2) we are dependent on a variety of information systems, which, if not properly functioning, or unavailable, or if we experience system security breaches, data protection breaches or other cyber-attacks,could adversely disrupt our business and harm our reputation and earnings; (3) changes in macro-economic conditions may negatively impact a number of risk factors which, individually or in the aggregate, could adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows; (4) we continually experience intense competition across all markets for our products and services; (5) we operate a global business that exposes us to risks associated with conducting business in multiple jurisdictions; (6) our failure to adequately adapt to IT industry changes could negatively impact our future operating results; (7) terminations of a supply or services agreement or a significant change in supplier terms or conditions of sale could negatively affect our operating margins, revenue or the level of capital required to fund our operations; (8) substantial defaults by our customers or the loss of significant customers could have a negative impact on our business, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity; (9) changes in, or interpretations of, tax rules and regulations, changes in the mix of our business amongst different tax jurisdictions, and deterioration of the performance of our business may adversely affect our effective income tax rates or operating margins and we may be required to pay additional taxes and/or tax assessments, as well as record valuation allowances relating to our deferred tax assets; (10) changes in our credit rating or other market factors such as adverse capital and credit market conditions or reductions in cash flow from operations may affect our ability to meet liquidity needs, reduce access to capital, and/or increase our costs of borrowing; (11) failure to retain and recruit key personnel would harm our ability to meet key objectives; (12) we cannot predict with certainty what losses we may incur as a result of litigation matters and contingencies that we may be involved with from time to time; (13) we may incur material litigation, regulatory or operational costs or expenses, and may be frustrated in our marketing efforts, as a result of environmental regulations or private intellectual property enforcement disputes; (14) we face a variety of risks in our reliance on third-party service companies, including shipping companies for the delivery of our products and outsourcing arrangements; (15) changes in accounting rules could adversely affect our future operating results; and (16) our quarterly results have fluctuated significantly. We also face a variety of risks associated with our acquisitions of Brightpoint, Inc., Aptec and Promark, and any other acquisitions we may make, including: management's ability to execute its plans, strategies and objectives for future operations, including the execution of integration plans; growth of the mobility industry, the government contracts business, and in new and untapped markets in geographies outside the U.S.; and other uncertainties or unknown, underestimated and/or undisclosed commitments or liabilities; and our ability to achieve the expected benefits and manage the costs of the integrations of our acquisitions.
Ingram Micro has instituted in the past and continues to institute changes to its strategies, operations and processes to address these risk factors and seek to mitigate their impact on Ingram Micro's results of operations and financial condition. However, no assurances can be given that Ingram Micro will be successful in these efforts. For a further discussion of significant factors to consider in connection with forward-looking statements concerning Ingram Micro, reference is made to Item 1A Risk Factors of Ingram Micro's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Dec. 29, 2012; other risks or uncertainties may be detailed from time to time in Ingram Micro's future SEC filings.
About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro is the world's largest wholesale technology distributor and a global leader in IT supply-chain, mobile device lifecycle services and logistics solutions. As a vital link in the technology value chain, Ingram Micro creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programs, outsourced logistics and mobile solutions, technical support, financial services and product aggregation and distribution. The company is the only global broad-based IT distributor, serving approximately 160 countries on six continents with the world's most comprehensive portfolio of IT products and services. Visit www.ingrammicro.com.
