Meet The New TD Synnex Executive Management Team

TD Synnex, born Wednesday as the IT industry’s newest distributor after the merger of Tech Data and Synnex, has built a new executive management team that draws fairly evenly from the top management of its two parents.

The New TD Synnex Executive Team

TD Synnex officially came to being Wednesday after the completion of the merger of IT distributors Tech Data and Synnex. The company is now in the process of integrating its employees, channel programs, and systems, a process the planning of which started about five months earlier, TD Synnex CEO Rich Hume told CRN.

One priority of the new company has been finalized. TD Synnex Wednesday unveiled its new executive management team, a group of 10 executives--six from the former Tech Data and four from the former Synnex--to lead the company as it completes its integration as the world’s largest IT distributor and gets ready to meet the rapidly changing challenges of the IT industry.

Hume said the first move in the integration of the two companies was to get management in place.

“We’ve been fortunate to have outstanding leadership from both companies,” he said. “Our combined leadership team is industry-best in my opinion. And we’re really looking forward to coming together and getting to know one another and then leveraging the talents of both organizations moving forward.”

For a first look at the new TD Synnex executive management team, click through our slideshow.

Rich Hume, CEO

Hume, who served as CEO of Tech Data since 2018, is the CEO of TD Synnex. Hume joined Tech Data as chief operating officer in 2016, and took the lead in integrating Avnet’s Technology Solutions business into Tech Data. Prior to that, he spent over 30 years at IBM, the last seven of which were as general manager and chief operating officer for IBM’s Global Technology Services business.

Dennis Polk, Executive Chair of the Board of Directors, Integration Lead, and Head of Global Businesses

Polk served as Synnex’s president and CEO since 2018 after serving 19 years as the distributor’s chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and senior vice president of corporate finance.

Michael Urban, President, Americas

As president of TD Synnex’s Americas business, Urban will be leading and managing the distributor’s North America and Latin America operations. Urban is unique in that he spent time at the executive level at both Synnex and Tech Data. He most recently served as the president of worldwide technology solutions distribution for Synnex. He joined Synnex in early 2019 after a six-year run Tech Data where he last served as that company’s corporate vice president for strategy, transformation, and global vendor management. Urban also brings extensive international experience to TD Synnex with a 13-year career at European IT distributor Actebis--now Switzerland-based Also Holding--where he served as CEO and chairman.

Patrick Zammit, President, EU & APAC.

Zammit, who until now was president of Tech Data’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) business, is now in charge of TD Synnex’s European and APAC (Asia and Pacific) business. Zammit joined Tech Data as president of Tech Data Europe in 2016 when Tech Data acquired Avnet Technology Solutions, where he served in a variety of management roles beginning in 1993 and culminating in a six-year stint as global president of Avnet Technology Solutions.

Hume and Zammit got to know each other well during the transition period after Tech Data acquired Avnet, with Zammit on the six-person global operations team handling the integration of the two. The team reported to Hume, who at the time was Tech Data’s chief operating officer.

Marshall Witt, Chief Financial Officer

Witt brings eight years as chief financial officer at Synnex to his new position at TD Synnex. He joined Synnex in 2013 after serving a variety of financial and operational roles over 15 years at FedEx Freight, culminating in his position as senior vice president of finance and controller.

David Vetter, Chief Legal Officer

Vetter, as TD Synnex’s chief legal officer, will be the lead for all legal representation of the distributor’s worldwide operations. Vetter is a 28-year veteran of Tech Data where he served as that company’s general counsel and as executive vice president and chief legal officer. Before joining Tech Data in 1993, Vetter was a partner at Robbins, Gaynor & Bronstein, P.A., a private law practice.

Bonnie K. Smith, Chief Information Officer

Smith is now responsible for everything related to information technology delivery at TD Synnex, along with helping the distributor bring new innovations to market. Smith joined Tech Data in October of 2020, and served as that company’s executive vice president and chief information officer. Prior to that, she served as chief information officer at Lear Corporation and Eaton.

Beth Simonetti, Chief Human Resources Officer

In her new role at TD Synnex, Simonetti will lead the strategic direction and operations of the distributor’s worldwide human resources. She has served as executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Tech Data since September of 2015. Prior to joining Tech Data, Simonetti served as senior vice president of human resources at Baker & Taylor for 6 years, and held the same role at Cardinal Health for 12 years.

Simon Leung, Chief Business Officer

Leung is making what is probably the biggest career change of TD Synnex’s executive management team with the exception of that of Dennis Polk. as chief business officer, Leung will lead global merger and acquisition activities, ERM (enterprise risk management) and business continuity, corporate communications, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) and CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives, facilities, and non-production procurement. Leung is a 20-year Synnex veteran, and served as that company’s general counsel and corporate secretary starting in 2001. Prior to Synnex, Leung was an attorney at the law firm of Paul Hastings LLP.

Sergio Farache, Chief Strategy Officer

Farache prior to the formation of TD Synnex served as Tech Data’s executive vice president of strategy and NextGen, which includes cloud, security, data, and IoT. That put him in the global leadership spot for the distributor’s overall strategy, innovation, and strategic next-generation technology business. Prior to that, Farache served as Tech Data’s senior vice president of strategy and global cloud solutions. Farache came to Tech Data with the acquisition of Avnet Technology Solutions where he was senior vice president of strategy and strategic business units. Prior to that, he was an IT systems engineer and an entrepreneur who founded and sold two companies.