Ingram Micro has had a shake out at the EMEA level, just two months after the distribution giant's president stepped down.

Current head of EMEA, Hans Koppen will retire as of 31 December and be replaced by Jay Forbes as executive vice president and president-designate, Ingram Micro EMEA. Kevin Murai, who is president and chief operating officer at Ingram announced his departure back in July and will also leave at the end of this year.

Koppen has been with Ingram for almost 10 years, heading up EMEA for the past three years. His replacement Forbes was most recently president and chief executive officer of Aliant, an Atlantic-Canadian telecommunications and IT company generating revenues of approximately $2bn. Prior to joining Aliant, Forbes was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Oxford Properties Group, a $3.5bn commercial real estate company.

Forbes, who trained as an accountant, will report directly to Alain Monié, president and chief operating officer of Ingram.

“Jay has an impressive track record of leading complex companies during times of significant growth and change,” said Monié in a statement. “In his new role, Jay will be charged with building on the successes of our EMEA region by driving growth – both within our core business and through new opportunities – while expanding our operating margins.”

Monié added: “Jay is taking over a well-run, consistently profitable organisation that is a top performer in Europe. Much of the credit for the region’s success goes to Hans Koppen and his team, who deliver excellent results in challenging environments.”

Koppen said: “I’m proud of my contributions to the growth and success of Ingram Micro during the last 10 years. With the support of my colleagues, I was able to guide new ventures into thriving, multi-billion-dollar operations and lead an established, mature region such as Europe to record sales and profits.”

Further reading:

Ingram poised to make European acquisitions

Ingram president steps down