Ingram Micro Inc. Chief Executive Alain Monie has made one of his first key hires to lead a new unit aimed at capturing business in the growing mobile segment.
Michael Romero was named vice president and general manager of Ingram’s North American mobile business unit, where he’ll lead a growing team in sales, technical support, business development and marketing.
Monie has eyed the mobile marketplace for growth since replacing Gregory Spierkel, who announced his resignation Jan. 19.
The segment includes smart phones, accessories, tablets, laptops, activation services and integrated products.
The high-margin mobile market is of “strategic importance and global growth for Ingram Micro,” said Brian Wiser, senior vice president of the company’s North American Specialty Solutions division.
The Santa Ana-based company is the biggest distributor of computers, software and other technology products in the world and the largest public company based in Orange County by revenue, with more than $36 billion in sales in 2011. It relies on thousands of resellers to sell goods and services.
Monie, in his first conference call with analysts and shareholders in February, singled out growth in higher-margin specialty business lines and accelerating investments in innovation, exemplified by cloud services the company rolled out last year, among his top priorities.
Romero previously ran Fluid Inc., a San Francisco-based marketing company that specializes in e-commerce and software services for venture capital and Fortune 500 companies. Other stints included executive positions with Milpitas-based SanDisk Corp.’s Private Label division and Mobile Retail division, and Phoenix-based technology distributor Avnet Inc.
RTI Sold
The assets of Anaheim electronics components maker RTI Electronics were acquired last month by a publicly traded electronics manufacturer in Orlando, Fla.
RTI, which makes resistors, capacitors, transformers and inductors, was bought for $2.3 million in cash by API Technologies Corp. as it builds its manufacturing operations and extends its reach in the magnetic and sensor segment, said API President and Chief Operating Officer Bel Lazar.
RTI saw about $4 million in sales in 2011 and counts Fortune 500 customers in the audio, defense, aerospace and industrial industries. The company employs more than 100 people at its 55,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Anaheim.
It was founded in 1972.
API, which is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market, sees about $110 million in annual sales. It had a recent market value of about $200 million.
ChargeAll
Ever lose battery power on your mobile or smart phone during a business meeting, long road trip or night on the town?
Newport Beach startup ChargeAll has an answer, and its simple plug-in product is gaining traction in bars, restaurants and hotels across the country. The company is coming off a successful demonstration at the Nightclub & Bar show in Las Vegas, where it sold out of charging stations that allow access for up to 10 mobile devices and other consumer electronics such as the Amazon Kindle and Nintendo DS.
“I’m literally a one-man shop with my mother and brother packaging chargers,” said founder Jeffrey Maganis, who left lucrative trading jobs on Wall Street and at Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. to start his own company.
The University of California, Irvine, alum crafted the idea for a universal charging port with friends during a music festival more than three years ago. Today the ports can be found at more than 1,000 locations in the U.S., including the Cheesecake Factory in Fashion Island, Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza, The Viper Room in West Hollywood, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and a slew of Las Vegas hotels.
To spread the word Maganis has given away many of the charging stations and taken to Twitter and other social networking sites to build a following. The company sells a host of ports on its website, ranging from a $20 wall charger to a $120 LED charging station.
ChargeAll is in discussions with beverage companies and others, as it considers advertising-related streams as possible sources of additional revenue.
As for the user experience, Maganis stressed, “I really like the idea for free cell phone charging.”
