Steve Phillips Senior VP, Avnet

Avnet, Inc. announced two corporate officer promotions.

Steve Phillips, chief information officer, has been promoted to a corporate officer position of senior vice president for Avnet, Inc. from vice president.

In addition, Graeme Watt, president of Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA, was elected as a new corporate vice president for Avnet, Inc.
 
"These promotions reflect the substantial contributions each of these executives has made to the success of Avnet, our customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders," said Rick Hamada, chief executive officer, Avnet, Inc. "By demonstrating exceptional performance in their respective areas of responsibility, Steve and Graeme have earned respect as leaders with a commitment to excellence."
 
 Phillips joined Avnet in 2005 as part of Avnet's acquisition of Memec, where he had served as senior vice president and CIO since 2004. Since joining Avnet, he has been instrumental in driving several significant IT initiatives that have helped improve productivity and streamline operations. Under his leadership, Avnet was selected by IDG's Computerworld as one of the Top Green-IT Vendor Organizations in the U.S. for 2011. In addition, Avnet was named to the 2011 InformationWeek 500 as a leading technology innovator for its work in e-commerce, and in 2010, CIO magazine named Avnet a recipient of the CIO 100 award.

Phillips is chairman emeritus for the board of the Arizona Technology Council, a trade association that connects, represents and supports Arizona's technology industry, and he serves as a director of Wick Communications, a private newspaper and specialty publication company.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Electronic Engineering from Essex University and a post-graduate Diploma in Management Studies from Thames Valley University. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering & Technology.
 
 As president of Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA, Watt is responsible for the strategic direction and profitable growth of Avnet's value-added IT solutions distribution business throughout EMEA. He joined Avnet in July 2010 upon Avnet's acquisition of Bell Microproducts, where he was president of worldwide distribution.
 
With more than 20 years of experience in the IT distribution industry, Watt has been responsible for merging the Avnet and Bell Micro organizations in Europe while also overseeing the business' expansion into the Middle East and Africa. Prior to Bell Micro, Watt was president of Tech Data EMEA. During his three year tenure in that position, Watt was responsible for many developments, including the acquisition of three companies, the implementation of major restructuring programs, the development of a centralized purchasing organization, and the expansion of the company's e-commerce capabilities.