SCC welcomes fresh CEO

SCC has welcomed a fresh CEO to lead the channel player, bringing on board a seasoned industry veteran to take the firm forward.

Robert Vassoyan has stepped into the CEO role, effective from today, and replaces Ames Rigby, who will now become executive chairman of SCC while continuing in his role as co-chief executive officer of Rigby Group.

Vassoyan comes with industry experience at some household names, having started his career at HP before making the move to Cisco. While at the latter, he held a number of roles, including becoming president of Cisco France in 2011. He joined Atos in 2018 as global chief sales officer and CEO of the unified communications division, later moving into a position leading the group’s healthcare and life sciences business.

“Throughout my career, I have admired SCC’s ability to adapt, evolve and lead. I am honoured to join the team and contribute to our next chapter at a time when the market is experiencing one of its most exciting transformations with AI [artificial intelligence],” he said.

The timing of the CEO appointment comes against the backdrop of SCC celebrating its 50th anniversary, with plans to take the business into its next chapter.

Vassoyan is seen as embodying the skills and expertise SCC is looking for to take more customers through the evolving technological shifts, including AI, maintaining he channel player’s hard-earned position in the market.

SCC’s executive chairman, James Rigby, said Vassoyan’s appointment was a significant step by the family-owned business to take the firm forward.

“The time I have spent with Robert has reinforced my view that he shares SCC’s values – our family culture, commitment to innovation and close customer relationships. As we celebrate 50 years of SCC, I am confident he will build on these foundations to shape the business we need for the future,” he said.

Vassoyan joins SCC not just at a time when it is looking back over five decades and has solidified its position as the largest privately owned channel player in the UK, but also a business that is continuing to expand.

Last month, SCC sealed a move for Spanish services player Grupo Omega as it looked to bolster its presence in the Iberian market.

The deal took SCC Spain’s headcount to a total of 400 people, who work alongside the more than 7,000 already working across the European group.

Beyond SCC, the Rigby Group has been making a few strategic moves, as it looks to double down on the IT market, with last month seeing the organisation sell off its regional and city airports division to ICG after 12 years of ownership.

Speaking to EY, Rigby indicated that the ambition was to continue to focus on the IT market and move SCC to a position where it was able to adapt to accelerating market change and remain a leading source of expertise and customer support around a range of areas, including cloud and AI.

He took the view that AI was a disruptive technology that customers would be seeking support around for years to come.