Lynn Smurthwaite-Murphy, Senior Vice President, U.S. and Canada, Westcon Group - Lynn is the Senior Vice President, U.S. and Canada responsible for the development and execution of the U.S. and Canadian business strategy as well as P&L functions such as budget ownership. Prior to this she held the position of Vice President for the North American Convergence Division where she managed the acquisition of Ronco Distribution in 2006 and Vice President Westcon Canada for several years. Most notable recent accomplishments would be the addition of Avaya’s Enterprise products, Cisco Systems full product line, Juniper Networks and Polycom to the Canadian line card previously known for leadership in Nortel and Security. Lynn also serves on the board of the Halton Children’s Aid Society. Lynn joined Westcon in 1997 after spending a number of years with Bell Canada in various capacities. Lynn holds a B.A. from Guelph University and has taken various Queen’s Executive Development continuing education courses on strategy and finance.
Charles (Chuck) Thropp, Chief Financial Officer, Westcon Group North America - Chuck has served in his current role since March 2003. From November 2001 to March 2003, he was VP Finance for the Voda One division. Prior to joining Westcon Group, Mr. Thropp worked for Fisher Scientific International, Inc, a global distributor of products and services to the scientific research and clinical laboratory markets, where he served as Controller, US Distribution Operations and VP-Controller, Worldwide Strategic Sourcing. From May 1987 to March 1999, Mr. Thropp was employed by the public accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and its predecessors, most recently as a Senior Audit Manager. Mr. Thropp is a certified public accountant with a B.S. in Business Economics from the University of Pittsburgh.
Bernie Kelley, Vice President, Operations, Westcon Group North America - Bernie has over 20 years of experience in the information technology industry, including sales, marketing and operations management roles in manufacturer, distributor and reseller organizations. In his current role, he is responsible for procurement, distribution, customer service, government programs and facilities in the United States and Canada. He has also served Westcon in sales account management, quality process management, and product marketing roles. Before joining Westcon, Bernie was a successful senior sales account manager for a technology reseller, and he also held marketing communications and technical writing positions at information technology manufacturers. Bernie holds a B.A. from Washington College, and a Master's degree in technical communication from Bowling Green State University.
Steve Bernard - Vice President, Westcon Group North America - Steve Bernard has 29 years of experience in the communications industry. He joined the Westcon Group nearly three years ago as General Manager and Vice President of Voda One which is the division focused on Avaya VARs. Since joining Westcon, Voda One has enjoyed steady growth and increased market share and was named Avaya's North American Distributor of the Year in 2008. Prior to Westcon, Steve held numerous management positions at Lucent Technologies and Avaya in both direct sales and channel sales. He resides in Flemington, NJ.
Gahn Lane, Vice President, Service Providers-The Americas - Gahn joined Westcon Group in March 2009. He is responsible for Westcon Group's service provider channel offerings in North and South America. Gahn is a 20 year channel sales veteran. Prior to working at Westcon Group, he held senior executive roles at Nortel where he oversaw the development of the Company's service provider accounts including AT&T and Sprint. Lane also managed sales of Nortel's entire VoIP and data portfolio and its managed services offerings for these and other customers. Gahn holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Texas and a Master of Business Administration in International Business from the University of Dallas.
Andy Banks, Vice President North America - Cisco Sales - Andy joined Westcon Group in March 2009. He currently leads the Comstor business unit in North America and is focused on growing Cisco's advanced technology offerings in that region. Andy is a 20 year veteran of the IT channel, having held executive and sales management roles at leading manufacturers including Cisco and Avaya. He also has several years of experience at the reseller level, where he managed P&L and business development initiatives. Andy holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration from San Jose State University.
Dan Forbes, Vice President, Westcon Canada - Dan is Vice President, Westcon Canada. Dan is a 14+ year veteran having held management positions in sales, marketing and product management. He joined Westcon Canada in 2008 managing the Comstor division of Westcon Canada. His in-depth product knowledge and years of experience helped to make Canada one of Cisco's fastest growing distributor year over year in 2009 during Comstor's first year of operation in Canada. Dan holds a B.A. from the University of Windsor.
