Jeff Bawol and Gavin Miller of Avnet Recognized as 2016 CRN Channel Chiefs

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a leading global technology distributor, today announced that CRN^®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Jeff Bawol, president of Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, and Gavin Miller, vice president, marketing, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, to its prestigious list of 2016 Channel Chiefs. The executives on this annual list represent top leaders in the IT channel who excel at driving growth and revenue in their organizations through channel partners.

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CRN has named Jeff Bawol, president of Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas to its prestigious list of 2016 Channel Chiefs. The executives on this annual list represent top leaders in the IT channel who excel at driving growth and revenue in their organizations through channel partners. (Photo: Business Wire)

Channel Chief honorees are selected by CRN’s editorial staff on the basis of their professional achievements, standing in the industry, dedication to the channel partner community and strategies for driving future growth and innovation. Each of the 2016 Channel Chiefs has demonstrated loyalty and ongoing support for the IT channel by consistently promoting, defending and executing outstanding channel partner programs. Bawol and Miller were selected for inclusion based on their track record of channel accomplishments, standing in the industry, dedication to the partner community, and plans for driving future business innovation and channel growth.

“Jeff and Gavin’s leadership efforts exemplify Avnet’s focus on helping partners successfully transform their businesses to address customers’ evolving needs as the market moves to next-generation technologies,” said Patrick Zammit, global president of Avnet Technology Solutions. “Both have led their teams in enabling our partners’ success with the financing resources, marketing programs and vertical expertise needed to capitalize on high-growth opportunities related to big data and analytics, the cloud, converged infrastructure, mobility, security, the public sector and services. Their inclusion on CRN’s list of Channel Chiefs is a well-deserved recognition of their accomplishments.”

Honored for the fifth time as a CRN Channel Chief, Bawol was recognized for his role in helping suppliers and partners expand their businesses, while capitalizing on technology growth markets and services. In 2015, Bawol and his team launched Avnet Cloud Marketplace, which provides Avnet partners with complete cloud solutions across software-, platform- and infrastructure-as-a-service offerings. It spans the entire cloud ecosystem, providing partners a way to easily buy, bill, manage and optimize cloud services. By leveraging the Avnet Cloud Marketplace, partners can quickly and cost-effectively expand their offerings, transforming them into the single-source cloud provider and trusted advisor customers are asking for. Bawol and his team also launched uRenew, Avnet’s program that enables partners to capture, maintain and capitalize on service contract renewal opportunities across their entire hardware and software portfolios.

Miller was honored for his leadership of the supplier and partner marketing, partner enablement and training, communications and public relations functions within Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. In the past year, Miller and his team launched the Avnet Knowledge Network, an education and collaboration tool that seamlessly connects Avnet, its suppliers and its partners. Along with being a platform for sharing best practices, it provides educational resources that empower partners to sell more complex and multi-vendor solutions, expand their knowledge of vertical markets and technology solutions, and stay up to date on the latest industry news and information.

"We are honored to present the 2016 lineup of CRN Channel Chiefs, comprised of outstanding executives who move our entire industry forward by cultivating exemplary partner programs and executing cutting-edge business strategy,” said Robert Faletra, CEO, The Channel Company. “They represent an extraordinary group of individuals who lead by example and serve as both invaluable advocates and innovators of the IT channel. We applaud their incredible strides and look forward to following their accomplishments in the coming year.”

The 2016 CRN Channel Chiefs list is featured in the February 2016 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/channelchiefs.

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About The Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com.

About Avnet, Inc.

From components to cloud and design to disposal, Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) accelerates the success of customers who build, sell and use technology globally by providing them with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, services and solutions. Avnet is a Fortune 500 company with revenues of $27.9 billion for the fiscal year 2015. For more information, visit www.avnet.com.

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