Leadership

A 40-plus Avnet veteran with a passion for serving customers, Gallagher was named CEO of Avnet in November 2020. Previously, he served as global president of Electronic Components, where he was responsible for leading the company’s massive broadline components distribution business worldwide.

Beginning his long and successful career with Avnet in 1982, Gallagher has held key executive leadership positions in sales, marketing and operations. He led two former operating groups for the company, serving as president of Avnet Electronic Marketing Americas from 2004 to 2009, and as global president of Avnet Technology Solutions from 2009 to 2014.

Gallagher is also a past president of the National Electronics Distributors Association (NEDA), now known as the Electronics Components Industry Association. In 2009, he received the Gail S. Carter Award, one of the organization’s highest honors. He currently serves on the Arizona Commerce Authority Board of Directors, the Greater Phoenix Leadership Board of Directors, and the Advisory Board of Women in Electronics. Gallagher is also a member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

He recently was awarded the AccountabillT Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority. He also received the Lee T. Hanley Community Leadership Award from the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Women in Electronics Unity Award from the Women in Electronics organization.

Gallagher holds a bachelor’s degree from Drexel University.

Last updated: June 2024

Ken Arnold is Avnet’s senior vice president and global chief people officer reporting to Avnet CEO Phil Gallagher. As head of human resources, he is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and responsible for leading our HR strategy and global human resources team to attract, develop, engage and reward employees for the enterprise. In addition, Arnold serves as Management’s liaison to the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee of the Board of Directors for Avnet.

Arnold’s impressive career includes more than 25 years of extensive experience across multiple industries in human resources and information technology, including vice president human resources for multiple business units, talent management and director human resources information systems and people operations. His executive management experience lends itself well to assisting companies that are seeking to drive significant engagement and change. Arnold’s industry and coaching experience enables him to identify the competencies and critical success factors that drive high-performing leaders and team effectiveness.

Prior to joining Avnet, Arnold served on leadership teams for both Iron Mountain and Citicorp, where he partnered with senior levels of organizations in the areas of employee relations, merger acquisition, culture integration, and compensation and benefits.

He holds bachelor’s degrees in both Finance and Economics from Tougaloo College and certifications in human resources from University of California, Los Angeles and in organizational development from Harvard Business School.

He is a board member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley, which is responsible for 30 clubs throughout Phoenix, Ariz. In 2020, he was recognized as one of Phoenix Business Journal’s Most Admired Leaders for moving the community forward through his leadership.

Last updated: September 2024

Max Chan is a skilled, visionary technology executive serving as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Avnet. With a deep understanding of the latest digital trends and technologies, he leads all aspects of information technology (IT), including cybersecurity, digital strategy and transformations that position Avnet as a digital-first organization.

Chan oversees the resources and capabilities of the global IT team and ensures that the organization maintains a robust and optimized IT environment. He also leads the digital system integration business, which delivers digital services and solutions to internal and external customers.

Chan joined Avnet in 2013 as vice president of IT for Avnet Technology Solutions in Asia Pacific. He led critical system implementations and enhancements, helped build Avnet’s Global Development Centers and drove process improvement initiatives in the region. In 2016, he transferred to the Phoenix corporate headquarters to take on the global application and business relationship management role. Avnet named him CIO in 2019.

Before joining Avnet, Chan held several IT leadership roles, including CIO, Asia, at VF Corporation, and vice president, IT global supply chain, building efficiency, at Johnson Controls.

Chan earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Malayan University, Malaysia, and a Master of Business Administration in strategy from University of Birmingham, U.K.

Last updated: September 2024

Ken Jacobson is the chief financial officer (CFO) for Avnet, leading the global finance and the global supply chain services organizations.

Jacobson joined Avnet in 2013 and was most recently corporate controller. In this role, he was responsible for the global accounting organization, the finance organizations within each of Avnet’s business units and had management oversight of Avnet’s global supply chain engagements.

Jacobson is experienced in developing strong, collaborative cross-functional relationships and balancing business objectives with finance and accounting requirements.

Jacobson came to Avnet with 12 years of public accounting and industry experience working with a variety of public, private and international companies across various industries including technology, manufacturing and distribution. Most recently, he served as the director of external reporting and accounting research at First Solar Inc., where he led the external reporting and accounting support function with responsibility for appropriately applying and reporting accounting requirements to significant transactions including revenue arrangements, business and asset acquisitions, and joint ventures and partnerships.

Jacobson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Washington and is an inactive CPA in Washington and Arizona.

He has also served on the board of directors for the past 10 years of a Phoenix-area based nonprofit.

Last updated: September 2024

Michael McCoy was named the general counsel and chief legal officer for Avnet in April 2020. In this role he leads the company's global legal, compliance, enterprise risk management and security teams. He is also responsible for Avnet’s corporate strategic planning function. McCoy is a member of the Avnet Leadership Team and a corporate officer.

McCoy joined Avnet in 2010. As an expat living in Brussels, Belgium, he recently served as general counsel, international, overseeing Avnet’s legal teams in EMEA and Asia Pacific. He also previously served as Avnet’s corporate secretary. Before joining Avnet, he worked at two international firms representing companies in securities, governance and M&A matters. McCoy began his legal career as an attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Arizona and a Juris Doctor from the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona.

He is a board member of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.

Last updated: September 2024

Beth McMullen is senior vice president of global operations at Avnet. She is responsible for driving consistent and efficient execution of Avnet’s global strategy, including the leadership of the Salesforce Global Center of Excellence and Global Data Management. In addition, she oversees the Logistics team and Avnet’s Program Management Office.

McMullen joined Avnet’s Global Information Systems (GIS) team in 2010 and was responsible for leading and transforming a technology program for the legacy Electronic Marketing team, and the GIS Project Management Office. She has continued to play a critical role in the Avnet transformation, holding leadership positions in Global Logistics & Operations and the Logistics Business Transformation Office. Prior to joining Avnet, McMullen held senior leadership positions at DP DHL and Arthur Andersen, LLP.

McMullen holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a master’s degree in international management from the Thunderbird School of International Management.

She was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Phoenix Art Museum effective November 2024.

Last updated: September 2024

Chairman of the Board Rodney Adkins presides over the twelve-member board of directors. Each director brings value and experience to the board in areas such as international business, finance, operations, government, human resources, engineering, marketing and academia.

Prior to 3RAM Group LLC, Mr. Adkins was the senior vice president of corporate strategy for IBM, with responsibility for leading continuous transformation across IBM and developing strategies linked to execution plans for a new era of computing, new markets and new clients. He held a number of technical and business leadership roles during his 33-year career with IBM which included serving as the senior vice president of IBM’s Systems and Technology Group. As a part of this, he led all aspects of IBM's semiconductor, server, storage, and system software businesses, as well as the company's Integrated Supply Chain and Global Business Partners organizations.

Mr. Adkins has received multiple leadership awards throughout his career. He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and holds honorary doctorate degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

In addition to serving on the Avnet board since 2015, Mr. Adkins currently serves on the board of directors for W.W. Grainger, Inc., PayPal Holdings, Inc., and United Parcel Service, Inc. He also previously served on the board of PPL Corporation and Pitney Bowes.

Mr. Adkins serves as a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and the chair of the Executive Committee.

Last updated: December 2021

Carlo Bozotti brings over 40 years of experience in the electronics and semiconductor industry, and is currently an Industrial Partner of European private equity firm FSI.

Prior to joining FSI, he was president and CEO of STMicroelectronics from 2005 to 2018, when he retired. During his time as president and CEO, Mr. Bozotti successfully led the company’s efforts to expand its leadership into stable, longer-term markets such as automotive and industrial electronics.

In addition to serving on Avnet’s board, Mr. Bozotti currently serves on the board of Besi, a leading supplier of assembly equipment for the global semiconductor and electronics industries.

From 2005 to 2018, Mr. Bozotti was a member of the European Round Table of Industrialists, an advocacy group in the European Union consisting of some 50 European Industrial leaders working to strengthen competitiveness in Europe.

A native of Noviglio, near Milan, Italy, Carlo Bozotti holds a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Pavia, Italy.

Mr. Bozotti serves as a member of the Audit Committee and Finance Committee.

Last updated: January 2024

Brenda Freeman is a veteran brand and digital disruptor in the marketing and communications field. In 2019, Ms. Freeman launched the marketing consulting company, Joyeux Marketing Group, advising early-stage start-ups on scaling strategies, brand development, customer journey mapping, digital analytics, insights development, communications strategy and experiential.

In addition, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Arteza Art Supplies, one of the fastest-growing e-commerce brands in the country. Previously, she was senior Advisor to the CEO and was formerly the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at Magic Leap, a private company focused on virtual retinal displays. She led the go-to-market strategy, brand marketing, communications, product marketing, digital marketing and all creative efforts.

Prior to Magic Leap, Ms. Freeman served as CMO for National Geographic Channels, where she oversaw the channel’s marketing and communications functions. She has also served as global head of television marketing for DreamWorks, where she created the DreamWorks TV Marketing Unit responsible for the global launch marketing all kids and family animated content supplied to Netflix. Before DreamWorks Animation, Ms. Freeman was CMO for Turner Broadcasting, a Time Warner division, leading the Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media group for networks.

Ms. Freeman received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a joint M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the University of Maryland, College Park.

She serves as an independent board director for Caleres Inc. and WM Technology Inc.

As a member of Avnet’s Board of Directors, Ms. Freeman serves on the Audit Committee and Corporate Governance Committee.

Last updated: February 2024

Phil Gallagher is the chief executive officer of Avnet and a member of its board of directors. As CEO, Gallagher is focused on growing and accelerating the company’s leadership position in the electronic components and technology industry by leveraging Avnet’s global distribution expertise and value-added services from design chain to supply chain.

A 40-plus Avnet veteran with a passion for serving customers, Gallagher was named CEO of Avnet in November 2020. Previously, he served as global president of Electronic Components, where he was responsible for leading the company’s massive broadline components distribution business worldwide.

Beginning his long and successful career with Avnet in 1982, Gallagher has held key executive leadership positions in sales, marketing and operations. He led two former operating groups for the company, serving as president of Avnet Electronic Marketing Americas from 2004 to 2009, and as global president of Avnet Technology Solutions from 2009 to 2014.

Gallagher is also a past president of the National Electronics Distributors Association (NEDA), now known as the Electronics Components Industry Association. In 2009, he received the Gail S. Carter Award, one of the organization’s highest honors. He currently serves on the Arizona Commerce Authority Board of Directors, the Greater Phoenix Leadership Board of Directors, and the Advisory Board of Women in Electronics. Gallagher is also a member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.

He recently was awarded the AccountabillT Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arizona Technology Council and the Arizona Commerce Authority. He also received the Lee T. Hanley Community Leadership Award from the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Women in Electronics Unity Award from the Women in Electronics organization.

Gallagher holds a bachelor’s degree from Drexel University.

Last updated: June 2024

Helmut Gassel is a seasoned and experienced semiconductor executive with more than 30 years in the industry. Among other activities, he is currently Co-founder and Partner of Silian Partners, a group of semiconductor industry senior executives. He also serves as a Board Member for Nordic Semiconductor’s Board of Directors, since 2024. Prior to 2022, he held several leadership positions during his 27-year tenure at Infineon Technologies, including Board Member, Chief Marketing Officer, and Division President for Industrial Power Control.

Mr. Gassel holds a Diploma in Nuclear Physics from Ruhr University Bochum and a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Duisburg-Essen.

As a member of Avnet’s Board of Directors, Mr. Gassel is a member of the Audit Committee.

Ms. Henkels served as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Empowerment & Inclusion Capital I Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company focused on promoting equity and inclusion until February 2023. Prior to that, Ms. Henkels served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of Swift Transportation Company from 2008 to 2017. She held various finance and accounting leadership positions with increasing responsibilities since 2004 at Swift Transportation and from 1990 to 2002 at Honeywell International, Inc., a global diversified technology and manufacturing company.

Ms. Henkels has served on the board of directors of Viad Corp. since November 2017, LCI Industries since September 2017 and privately-held Isaac Instruments since March 2023. From 2018 to 2021, Ms. Henkels served on the board of directors of Echo Global Logistics, Inc

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona and a Master of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University.

As a member of Avnet’s Board of Directors, Ms. Henkels is a member of the Audit Committee.

Jo Ann Jenkins is CEO of AARP where she leads the world’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization -- comprised of 2,000 staff members plus 60,000 volunteers and numerous strategic partners.

Prior to joining AARP, Ms. Jenkins served as chief operating officer for the Library of Congress. She began her career with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, later moving to the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Agriculture in a variety of leadership roles with increasing responsibility. In addition to her public service, she served in several private consulting firms, advising major corporations regarding development and implementation of diversity and organizational strategies.

Ms. Jenkins is currently on the board of General Mills, which she joined in January 2020. She has also held a variety of board and advisory positions, including with AARP Services, AARP Funds, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, Kennedy Center National Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, Stanford School of Medicine Board of Fellows, U.S. Small Business Administration Council on Underserved Communities, and Caring for Military Families.

Ms. Jenkins holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., graduated from the Stanford Graduate School of Business Executive Program, and also holds honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Spring Hill College and Washington College.

Ms. Jenkins serves as a member of the Finance Committee and Executive Committee and as chair of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee.

Last updated: January 2024

Oleg Khaykin is president and CEO of Viavi Solutions, Inc., and he is also a member of their board of directors.

Prior to joining Viavi, Mr. Khaykin served as a senior advisor at Silver Lake Partners. Previously he had served as president and CEO, and as a member of the board of directors, at International Rectifier from 2008 until its acquisition by Infineon AG in 2015. During his tenure, he successfully turned around the company and transformed it into the world leader in power semiconductors.

Mr. Khaykin has also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Amkor Technology, Inc., and vice president of strategy and business development at Conexant Systems, Inc. and Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. He was previously a member of the board of directors of Newport Corporation until its acquisition by MKS Instruments (2010-2016), Zarlink Semiconductor, Inc. (2007-2011), and Marvell Semiconductors (2016-2020).

Mr. Khaykin holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) with High University Honors from Carnegie-Mellon.

As a member of Avnet's Board of Directors, Mr. Khaykin serves on the Audit Committee, Executive Committee and the chair of the Finance Committee.

Last updated: December 2021

James A. Lawrence serves as chairman of Lake Harriet Capital LLC, an investment and advisory firm. Previously, he served as chairman of Rothschild North America from 2012 - 2015 and as chief executive officer of Rothschild North America and as co-head of global investment banking from 2010 - 2012. Prior to joining Rothschild, Mr. Lawrence served as chief financial officer of Unilever and as an executive director on the boards of Unilever NV and Unilever PLC. Mr. Lawrence joined Unilever in 2007 after serving as the vice chairman and chief financial officer of General Mills, where he was responsible for corporate financial international operations.

Mr. Lawrence earned a bachelor of arts in economics from Yale University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School. He is currently a director of International Airline Group, the holding company of British Airways and Iberia, and serves on the board of directors of Smurfit Kappa, a leading provider of paper-based packaging solutions, as well as AerCap Holdings.

He previously served on the board of directors of Avnet, Inc. from 1999 until 2008, when he resigned to take on an employment-related role requiring him to relocate to Europe. He rejoined the Avnet board in May 2011.

As a member of Avnet's Board of Directors, Mr. Lawrence serves as a member of the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee and Finance Committee.

Last updated: January 2024

Industry leader Ernest Maddock brings expertise from a long-established financial career in the technology industry to support Avnet’s growth in its second century in business.

He retired from Micron Technology in 2018, having held the position of Chief Financial Officer and advisor since 2015. Before joining Micron, he served as executive VP and CFO at Riverbed Technology from 2013 to 2015, where his portfolio encompassed operations and information technology.

Before joining Riverbed, Mr. Maddock spent 15 years at LAM Research, where he served in select business and operations roles with increasing responsibility across the organization. Throughout his 40-plus year career, he has held various financial and accounting positions, including with NCR Corp. and Lockheed Martin.

In addition to serving on Avnet’s board, Mr. Maddock serves on the board of Ultra Clean Holdings Inc., a developer and supplier of critical subsystems for the semiconductor capital equipment industry focusing on gas delivery systems; Velodyne Lidar, Inc., a global leader in lidar technology providing real-time 3D vision for autonomous systems; and Teradyne, Inc., an American automatic test equipment designer and manufacturer.

Mr. Maddock holds a B.S. in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University.

Mr. Maddock serves as a member of the Finance Committee and Executive Committee and as chair of the Audit Committee.

Last updated: January 2024

Avid Modjtabai held a long career in corporate strategy. She retired from her role as senior executive vice president for Wells Fargo’s Payments, Virtual Solutions and Innovation group in March 2020. She was responsible for overseeing the company’s robust payments platforms, digital capabilities, online, mobile and phone channels and innovation teams.

Ms. Modjtabai worked with Wells Fargo beginning in 1993 and served in a number of diverse senior leadership roles during her tenure. Prior to her most recent role, she was the head of the consumer lending and enterprise-wide operations group. She also previously served as the chief information officer and head of the technology and operations group. As CIO, she was responsible for the core technology functions across the company, including computing, data centers, connectivity and voice and data networks, end-user services, enterprise architecture, application development, information security and technology governance. Ms. Modjtabai has served as Wells Fargo’s director of human resources, led the Internet Services Group and held management positions in consumer deposits and the investment group. Before joining Wells Fargo, she was a consultant with McKinsey & Company where she focused on strategy initiatives in financial services.

Ms. Modjtabai was named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Banking” by American Banker and one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business” by the San Francisco Business Times. She received the “Ellis Island Medal of Honor” for her outstanding personal and professional achievements and her commitment to preserving the richness of her heritage. She is an active member in the community and serves on the board of trustees for The Marine Mammal Center.

Ms. Modjtabai earned a master's degree from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree from Stanford University. She has served on the Board of Directors for Prologis since February 2020.

As a member of Avnet's Board of Directors, Ms. Modjtabai serves on the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee, Executive Committee and chairs the Corporate Governance Committee.

Last updated: December 2021

Adalio T. Sanchez is president of S Group Advisory LLC, a management consulting firm providing advisory services on business strategy, technology, and operational excellence. Mr. Sanchez is a 35-year information technology industry veteran in the enterprise hardware, software, and semiconductor markets.

Mr. Sanchez was formerly senior vice president of Lenovo Group Limited, where he was responsible for the company’s enterprise systems, storage, and data center technologies business. Prior to that, he served 32 years at IBM Corporation in various senior executive and global general management roles. During his tenure at IBM, he was instrumental in leading the firm’s early personal computers division and later led the transformation and growth of several multi-billion dollar global divisions in the systems, storage, and semiconductors spaces.

He also serves on the board of directors of ACI Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIW), a global software company facilitating real-time electronics payments, where he chairs the Board of Directors; Snap One Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SNPO), a smart home technology solutions and distribution company, and serves on the ASM International Supervisory Board, a Netherlands-based semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment company. He is also on the board of the MITRE Corporation, a firm that manages federally funded research and development centers in support of the U.S. federal government. Mr. Sanchez was previously on the board of Quantum Corporation (NYSE: QTM), where he chaired the company’s Leadership and Compensation Committee and served as interim CEO.

Mr. Sanchez holds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Miami and an MBA from Florida International University.

As a member of Avnet’s Board of Directors, Mr. Sanchez serves on the Compensation and Leadership Development Committee and Corporate Governance Committee.

Last updated: December 2022