Updated: Henley appointed as CEO to Synergy Plus

Channel veteran, Garry Henley, has become CEO of ASX-listed entity, Synergy Plus (ASX:SNR).

Henley previously spent 11 years at Alphawest, initially as managing director in 1999 before being promoted to CEO in 2002.

He led Alphawest through its sale to Solution 6, as well as its acquisition by Optus/Singtel in 2005. He stayed on as CEO until 2008.

Henley said it was always a part of the plan to take some time off when Alphawest had successfully integrated into Optus.

“It was my choice to come back into the industry. I approached Synergy because I though it was a great opportunity,” Henley told ARN.

“I made a commitment to stay with Optus for two years to see through the integration of Alphawest and over time the company grew from 400 to more than 800 staff.”

In his new role, Henley plans to consolidate the company’s acquisitions.

“The different acquisitions have brought in different skills to the business,” he said.

“There are lots of pockets in the business that we need to take, expand and leverage.”

Opportunities for Synergy to expand its services and managed services business are ripe, Henley said.

“It’s got a national footprint and the right momentum that is capable of adding acquisitions to and being flexible in adapting to some of the changes in the market,” he said.

The newly appointed CEO assured he’ll be with the company for the long run.

“I think when you’re going through the process of building a business, you have to be there long term,” he said. “Synergy has gone through a lot of challenges, but it’s also a business that’s very similar to Alphawest.”

In a statement, Synergy Plus chairman, Domenic Martino, said the integrator needed someone to drive the company’s growth.

“We committed to the market that we would wait to ensure we found the right candidate before formally appointing a new CEO,” he said.

Acting CEO, Peter Cappendell, will stay with Synergy as its newly appointed chief operating officer (COO).

“We’re really lucky to have Henley on-board,” Cappendell said.

Cappendell said it was an extensive recruitment process that almost took seven months to find the right candidate.

“We knew it was going to be a long period, but it was critical to get the right guy to lead us,” Cappendell said. “There was a lot of interest in the position.”

In the short term, he said he would be managing the transition with Garry and will take on his new role after that.

“It was a role I planned to go into, prior to becoming the acting CEO,” Cappendell said.

Henley’s remuneration package includes a balanced fixed salary of $312,000 per annum, including statutory superannuation, as well as performance-based incentives determined by Synergy’s board.

The integrator recently released its half-yearly financial results showing a 3 per cent increase in revenue to $76.8 million. Net profit totalled $824,000 compared to the $753,000 loss in the corresponding half.

ComputerCorp rebranded to Synergy Plus in November after acquiring IBM specialist, Synergy Plus last March in an effort to establish a listed IT integration powerhouse.

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