Insight President, CEO Ken Lamneck To Retire; Stock Plunges

Insight Enterprises has engaged an executive search firm to identify potential successors from both internal and external candidates following Ken Lamneck’s 12-year run as CEO of the solution provider giant.

Longtime Insight Enterprises leader Ken Lamneck plans to retire at the end of 2021 after quadrupling sales and increasing the channel giant’s stock price eight-fold.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based company, No. 15 on the 2020 CRN Solution Provider 500, said it has engaged an executive search firm to identify potential successors to Lamneck from both internal and external candidates. Lamneck, 66, will continue to serve as Insight’s president and CEO until a successor has been named, and will then transition into an advisory role for the remainder of the calendar year.

“It has been my greatest professional honor to lead this amazing company, to work alongside our incredible teammates around the world, to join forces with our partners and to serve our clients,” Lamneck said in a statement. “We have a strong management team and I believe now is the right time to start transitioning the leadership of the company.”

[Related: Okta Taps Former Insight President Steve Dodenhoff To Lead Channels]

Over the last 12 years, Insight said Lamneck has led the company’s transition from a value-added reseller to an intelligent technology solution provider, doubling sales from $4.1 billion in 2009 to $8.3 billion in 2020. Lamneck has spearheaded eight acquisitions as Insight’s CEO, including the $454 million buy of data center solution provider Datalink and $581 million purchase of direct market reseller PCM.

“While Ken is leaving big shoes to fill, the organization and management team he has built will serve us well as we look for his replacement, and continue the transformation of Insight,” Insight Chairman Tim Crown said in a statement. “I am happy to confirm that Ken will be with us during and after the search process to ensure a successful transition.”

During Lamneck’s CEO tenure, Insight’s stock price increased nearly eight-fold from $11.42 per share to more than $100 per share, earning the company a $3.29 billion valuation. However, Insight’s stock plummeted $9.22 (9.08 percent) to $92.38 per share in trading Thursday morning, which is the lowest the company’s stock has traded since March 9.

Insight also announced quarterly results Thursday, with revenue inching ahead 2 percent to $2.19 billion and net income soaring by 27 percent to $43.2 million, or $1.18 per share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.24 per share on sales of $2.15 billion, according to Seeking Alpha.

A possible successor to Lamneck is Joyce Mullen, the former Dell Technologies global channel chief who started in October as president of Insight’s $6 billion North American business. Mullen replaced Steve Dodenhoff, who mutually agreed to part ways with the company in May 2020 after leading Insight’s North American business for eight years. Dodenhoff became Okta’s global channel chief last month.

Prior to joining Insight, Lamneck spent nearly six years overseeing Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor Tech Data’s sales and marketing operations throughout the Americas. Prior to that, Lamneck spent seven years at Centennial, Colo.-based distributor Arrow Electronics, which included a stint leading its industrial computer products business.

Lamneck attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, and then spent five years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of captain. While in the Army, Lamneck helped develop the software used in what is now known as the Patriot Missile System.