Solution Provider vCore Hires Former EMC Exec As President, COO

Solution provider vCore Technology Partners is looking to better manage its fast growth with the coming appointment of Bay Young, a former EMC executive, to the post of president and chief operating officer.

Young (pictured) on Jan. 1 will take over the reins as president of vCore from Steve Leavitt, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company's current CEO and president. Leavitt, who founded vCore in 2010, will continue as the company's CEO.

Leavitt told CRN the move to split his former responsibilities by having a separate CEO and president comes as vCore looks at how to better manage a fast-growing business.

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"We're sneaking up to $100 million in revenue," he said. "We are currently in seven or eight states and are now offering a broad range of services. At this point, we're looking for an executive who can preserve our culture while expanding our business."

Young and Leavitt have known each other for years when both worked at EMC. During part of his career at EMC, Leavitt worked under Young.

Young, a 21-year EMC veteran, last year left his position as senior vice president for EMC's Western U.S. enterprise sales. He stayed through to the completion of its acquisition by Dell during which he saw a huge move to focus on the channel, he told CRN.

"Channels in 2011 accounted for about 30 percent of EMC's enterprise revenue," he said. "By the time I left, 52 percent of revenue came through partners. I've been supportive of the channel for years. So it's not unusual for someone like me to want to move to a solution provider."

Young expects to spend much of his initial time at vCore attracting talent and leveraging his relationships. He said he will also focus on driving margins and on building the company's teams. "I want to help drive revenue and meet goals, and make sure our people are developed to do just that," he said.

vCore's top-line revenue in 2017 is expected to rise 42 percent over last year to reach about $85 million before growing to $100 million in 2018, Leavitt said. vCore's services revenue in 2017 grew 120 percent over last year, while its managed services revenue grew 450 percent, he said.

"We're letting customers outsource the mundane things to us while they focus on their business," he said. "Our product revenue is also still growing, and it's a big part of our business."

While most of vCore's personnel are in the company's Scottsdale and Irvine, Calif., offices, Young plans to continue working from home in Colorado. "All the airports look the same, and it's a pretty consistent two-and-a-half-hour flight to all our customers," he said.

Leavitt said vCore has plans to aggressively expand its reach to new cities, especially in the Pacific Northwest and Denver areas. The company has recently made major investments in cloud, security and managed services, he said.