WWT Names Former Strategic Advisor As Its New COO

Steve Pelch takes over as WWT’s COO, a role that until now had been handled by CFO Tom Strunk. However, Pelch, through his management advisory company SJP Value Creation, has been a strategic advisor to WWT for the past year.

Steve Pelch

Global technology solution provider World Wide Technology Thursday said it has appointed Steve Pelch as its new chief operating officer.

Pelch was a veteran of nearly 34 years at Emerson where he rose to the rank of chief operating officer and executive vice president before departing that company in early 2021. He was a senior advisor for the past year at New York-based Radial Equity Partners, during which time he served as a strategic advisor to WWT with a focus on the company’s acquisition process and services capabilities.

Pelch is also the owner of SJP Value Creation, a St. Louis-based advisory firm. SJP Value Creation provides advisory services to C-level executives related to strategy, operations, and acquisitions.

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Prior to Pelch joining the company, WWT did not have a full-time COO. Instead, WWT CFO Tom Strunk has did double duty as both CFO and COO for several year. With the hiring of Pelch, Strunk will continue as CFO, but will remain close to the company’s operations as well, WWT said.

Pelch joins a true powerhouse in the IT channel. WWT is listed at No. 10 in the CRN 2022 Solution Provider 500. WWT has about 9,000 employees and annual revenue of about $17 billion. It is also listed as the 27th largest private company in the U.S. by Forbes.

Jim Kavanaugh, WWT CEO and co-founder, wrote in a LinkedIn post that Pelch as COO will lead WWT’s global warehousing, distribution, and integration operations while overseeing its global supply chain and global program management organizations.

“[This is] a position critical for our continued growth in delivering value to our customers around the world,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Pelch embodies WWT’s values of customer-focused excellence and building high-performance teams, Kavanaugh wrote.

“I am very excited to have Steve join our executive team, as his commitment to growth, authentic leadership, and experience will prove invaluable as we continue to support our customers and partners in driving accelerated digital transformation on a global scale,” he wrote.