Avnet Technology Solutions has plucked Computacenter's (CC) data centre and networking boss Henry Godwin from the UK to run its Middle East and Africa operation.

For Godwin this represents a return to his roots, as he previously did time in distribution before moving to services-based-reseller CC. Godwin was the HP and Symantec divisional leader at Bell Microproducts - the distributor acquired by Avnet last year.

Godwin will report to Avnet TS EMEA president Graeme Watt, who hired him due to a "track record in setting up new supplier franchises" with the plan to build sales programmes in the territory.

"The Middle East and Africa region remains an emerging market with high growth potential for the IT channel," said Watt in a statement.

During a three-year tenure at CC, Godwin ran category teams for data centre, networking and software. ®