Synnex MD and founder quits

Synnex Australia founder and managing director, Frank Sheu, has left the company amid unclear circumstances.

Marketing director Danny Feldman told CRN that Sheu officially left the company on January 3rd to peruse professional development opportunities overseas.

Feldman would not comment further but said Sheu had left the company in a sound corporate and financial state.

Synnex turned over $500 million in revenue last year and now had over 200 staff across five offices, he said.

Former general manager products, Kee Ong, who has been with Synnex since 1998, had been appointed as the new managing director, Feldman said.

The company had informed a number of vendor partners and resellers but was waiting until its annual partner conference in February to formally announce the change.

Sheu leaves the company at a critical time. The distributor launched a fledgling New Zealand venture last year and is currently in a period of transition; evolving away from its whitebox roots to better compete with archrival Ingram Micro.

“The vision for the company doesn’t change,” Feldman said. “We continue to grow organically and are now looking for stability and consolidation.”

Sheu has been in the IT game for some time. He founded PC builder Mitac in 1991 and later moved into distribution with the launch of Synnex Australia in 1997. The company is now considered to rank as the second largest IT distributor in Australia.

Both Sheu and Ong were unavailable for comment. More on this story to follow.