Ingram Micro at 30

Back on 16th July, Ingram Micro celebrated its 30th Birthday. The company was originally founded by husband and wife Geza Czige and Lorraine Mecca and called Micro D. It went public in 1983, but in 1989 it was acquired by privately-held Ingram Industries and then merged with another Ingram company, Ingram Computer [formerly, Software Distribution Services]. This new company was subsequently called Ingram Micro which became a public company in 1996.

To coincide with its 30th Birthday, Ingram Micro CEO Greg Spierkel was interviewed by ChannelWeb. While he mentioned some of Ingram Micro's largest suppliers - HP, Cisco and Apple in particular - Spierkel also discussed the importance of a handful of newer players from around the world, such as HTC from Taiwan, and Haier from China. Spierkel also spent some time discussing the attraction of China and India, and especially the size of the opportunity, and the speed with which these countries are developing their technological capabilities. Europe does get a mention, but mostly from the period when Spierkel was running the EMEA business - and that's some 10 years ago. So, just in case we forget it, the old world is part of a history tour, while the new world is a long haul flight away, and to the East, not the West.