Following the announcement that long-standing CEO, Ian Cook, will be retiring in February 2014, Datatec-owned Logicalis has said Gary Bullard will take up the leadership role. Cook will be staying on as non-Executive Chairman.
Bullard, who will become CEO designate from next month, is something of an IT services veteran. Most recently, he was UK CEO and President of Australia, Middle East and Asia for Logica (now of course CGI) – see Gary Bullard’s challenge at Logica. Prior to this, Bullard was MD of BT’s corporate business unit and President of BT Global Services. He has also held senior executive positions in IBM, including General Manager of IBM Global Services EMEA and General Manager of IBM Global Solutions. Following the CGI acquisition of Logica, Bullard was one of the directors (along with Andy Green (CEO), Himanshu Rajah (CFO) and others) that didn’t stay on – see CGI/Logica – 'Being Brilliant' Broken Apart.
In the UK, Logicalis has been doing a pretty good job of steadily rebalancing the business with a greater proportion of IT services (see Logicalis edges towards optimal services balance). We think the addition of Bullard is a good choice. Firstly, his experience and time in the industry (25 years+) make him a ‘safe pair of hands’ – something Datatec will be particularly keen to ensure following Cook’s seven-year tenure. Secondly, Bullard’s experience in IT services specifically is just what Logicalis needs as it continues to evolve.
Just as soon as Bullard gets his feet under the desk we’ll aim to meet up to get the low-down on his plans for the business going forward.