Avnet Partner Solutions Appoints Industry Veteran Rick Alvarez to Lead HP Business Unit

Business Wire, May 15, 2006

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Avnet Partner Solutions, Americas, a value-added distributor of enterprise servers, storage, software and services, today announced the promotion of Rick Alvarez to vice president and general manager of its HP business unit. Alvarez will be responsible for the HP business' strategic direction, supplier relations, long-term growth, marketing and sales operations.

With more than 20 years of industry experience, Alvarez previously served as a vice president of sales for Avnet Partner Solutions, where he helped grow sales to over $600 million. He also held several other executive sales positions within the division and is responsible for growing its mainframe sales into a multimillion-dollar business. Prior to joining Avnet, Alvarez worked as vice president of sales for Q.I.V., a reseller specializing in mid-range technology and service solutions for the SMB marketplace. While at Q.I.V. he helped drive the organization to $30 million in annual sales. Alvarez was also employed in the technology sector for nine years, where he held positions in operations management, and large account and new business sales.

"During the past seven years at Avnet, Rick has consistently delivered great business results and developed strong relationships with our channel partners," said Fred Cuen, president, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas. "Rick focuses on achieving high levels of customer, partner and employee satisfaction while executing on our strategic business plans, resulting in growth. His leadership skills, paired with his sales and operations experience, will help our partners quickly and successfully grow their businesses through increased collaboration and innovative solutions designed for the HP market."

Alvarez earned bachelor and master of education degrees from Idaho State University, and he also taught special needs children for 10 years.

About Avnet Partner Solutions, Americas

Avnet Partner Solutions, Americas is part of the Avnet Technology Solutions operating group of Avnet Inc. An industry-leading, value-added distributor and provider of enterprise servers, storage, software and services, Avnet Partner Solutions serves value-added resellers, independent software vendors (ISVs) and systems integrators in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Avnet Partner Solutions provides enterprise solutions from industry-leading manufacturers, focusing on driving growth for partners and manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.aps.avnet.com.

Avnet (NYSE:AVT) enables success from the center of the technology industry, providing cost-effective services and solutions vital to a broad base of more than 100,000 customers and 300 suppliers. The company markets, distributes and adds value to a wide variety of electronic components, enterprise computer products and embedded subsystems. Through its premier market position, Avnet brings a breadth and depth of capabilities that help its trading partners accelerate growth and realize cost efficiencies. For fiscal year ended, July 2, 2005, Avnet and the recently acquired Memec (closed July 5, 2005) generated combined revenue in excess of $13 billion in the past year through sales in approximately 70 countries. Please visit www.avnet.com for more information.

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