Breslin succeeds McBeth at helm of Premier Farnell

McBeth took the helm at Premier Farnell when the business was acquired by Avnet in 2016 and has delivered double-digit growth and profitability under his leadership.

Pete Bartolotta, Chief Transformation Officer for Avnet, said of Graham McBeth’s retirement: “Graham’s ability to lead an organisation and get the very best out of his team shows, as the business results speak for themselves. Graham—thank you for the contributions you have made during your time at Avnet.”

Bartolotta added, “As Avnet and Premier Farnell continue to deliver on Avnet’s end-to-end ecosystem strategy, the strength of our senior leadership team remains one of our greatest assets, as evident by Chris’ appointment to lead Premier Farnell. He brings the experience, knowledge of the business and leadership style that will help Premier Farnell continue to grow.”

Breslin joined Premier Farnell in July 2014 as chief product officer, and during his tenure, globalized Premier Farnell’s asset and product organisation and greatly improved the company’s customer proposition by adding several dozen new suppliers.   

Prior to Premier Farnell, Breslin spent five years as the chief operating officer for Crescent Electric Supply Company, one of the largest electrical wholesalers in North America.  Breslin will assume the new position immediately and McBeth will stay with Premier Farnell until the end of July, allowing time for a thorough handover between the leaders.