Global distributor Tech Data is bringing on former Lenovo and Lexmark executive Sammy Kinlaw to head its endpoint business in the Americas region.
The Lowdown: Kinlaw, who has almost 30 years in the tech industry, this week was named senior vice president of endpoint solutions for Americas for the Tampa, Florida-based company.
The Details: He will be responsible for leading Tech Data’s relationships and strategic operations for the company’s endpoint solution vendors and channel partners.
Kinlaw brings extensive channel experience to Tech Data, coming from printing and imaging solution vendor Lexmark, where he spent almost three years as its vice president of worldwide channel and OEM sales. Prior to that, he was at Lenovo for more than nine years, with his last position there being vice president of the tech giant’s North America channel and U.S. SMB business.
He started his IT career in 1993 with IBM.
Background: Kinlaw comes to a solution and service distributor that has more than 125,000 customers in more than 100 countries, more than 150,000 products sold, more than 14,000 employees around the world, and $37 billion in sales for fiscal-year 2020. Tech Data was bought this summer by private equity firm Apollo Management for $5.4 billion.
The Buzz: “Sammy’s experience and depth of knowledge across a host of technologies and vendors, as well as his deep understanding of the channel, make him a perfect fit for Tech Data,” said John O’Shea, president of Americas at Tech Data. “We are pleased to welcome him to the company and look forward to the impact he will have on our business in service to our channel partners.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Tech Data throughout my career as a vendor, and I’m thrilled to now join the company at a pivotal time in its transformation,” Kinlaw said. “I look forward to bringing my experience from the vendor side to help Tech Data better serve all its stakeholders.”
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