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Another Insight exec spotted racing toward exit

Senior veep of operations Simon Taylor quits

Simon Taylor, EMEA senior veep of operations at cloud-wannabe reseller Insight Enterprises, is the latest big cheese to quit the firm with the regional chief finance exec Russell Leighton taking on dual responsibilities.

The 14-year Insight veteran has left the building - staff were told of his departure yesterday afternoon along with the decision to combine the operations and finance functions from 1 July.

European president Wolfgang Ebermann understandably preferred to spin the focus onto the expanded responsibilities given to Leighton, talking of his “proven track record and deep understanding of the business.

“He is the perfect fit to establish a client centric and effective operational backbone that will allow us to efficiently execute on our Intelligent Technology Solutions strategy,” added Ebermann, in statement that largely consisted of white noise.

We asked Ebermann why he decided to consolidate the finance and operations exec roles, and he said "blah, blah, industry speak, industry speak, blah, blah"..

As far as El Chan can tell, Taylor's exit on 30 June was not expected and Insight has simply used this to merge the functions.

Leighton is also a 14-year Insight veteran, having joined from KPMG where he was an audit manager.

Senior staff churn at Insight has been evident in recent years with the departure of EMEA director Justin Griffiths, IT services director Stuart Lemon, and cloud boss Ash Patel who split for Cobweb Solutions.

Marketing director Ashley Gatehouse, veep of global sales Frank Bitoun, EMEA sales director Tony Brooker, and enterprise exec Garry Butters left in 2013.

The company is, like many traditional resellers, trying to do more than shift boxes and software licenses, and reckons its cloud investments will pay dividends next year.

We asked Taylor where he is headed next, but he was unable to comment. ®

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