Avnet Computer Names Schmidt to Top Position; Industry veteran to aggressively grow technical capability to serve customers' ERP, storage and systems consolidation needs.

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 14, 1999--

Mike Schmidt has been named Senior Vice President, the top position at solutions integrator Avnet Computer.

Formerly Vice President, North American Sales, the 20-year technology sales and marketing veteran is responsible for all functional areas at Avnet Computer, a division of $6.3 billion Avnet Inc.

"We're fortunate to have someone with Mike Schmidt's talent and solution selling experience leading Avnet Computer," said Avnet Computer Marketing Group president Andy Bryant. "His leadership in sales, service and customer intimacy have all contributed to outstanding performance at Avnet Computer, and will serve him well as he takes the solutions integrator to the next level."

Schmidt said his top priority is to continue to build its systems engineering corps and move that capability closer to the customer. "Given our three primary markets of enterprise resource planning, storage and systems consolidation, it is essential that we put as much expertise as possible as close to the customer as possible," he said.

"These systems engineers and technical project managers will also enhance our ability to support our supplier partners technology platforms."

Avnet Computer is one of North America's leading technology solutions integrators, deploying hardware, software and services across the enterprise.

The company leverages its unique suite of technical, acquisition, financial and consulting services to bring value to businesses intent on managing their total cost of computing infrastructure -- from the data center, through the network, to the desktop.

Avnet Computer delivers best-in-class solutions from the industry's leaders, including Cabletron, Cisco, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Oracle and is a J.D. Edwards Alliance Partner.

Headquartered in Tempe, Avnet Computer (www.avnetcomputer.com) is part of the $1.5 billion Avnet Computer Marketing Group, a division of Avnet Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune 500 company with annual sales exceeding $6.3 billion.