Jim Estill’s story for 2009 does not have a conclusion. Estill is contractually obligated not to reveal the reasons for his departure from NuHorizons. CDN respects his situation.
Estill was president and CEO of Synnex Canada and he left the organization at the end of May 2009. Mitchell Martin, the current president of Synnex Canada, took over Estill’s duties.
Estill’s decision to leave Synnex was based solely on his desire to pursue the next challenge.
There was much speculation as to where he would land. The street had rumours of him going to RIM, Apple and even the Ontario Hockey League, but he landed in all places Long Island, N.Y. with NuHorizons Electronics Corp., a global distributor of advanced technology semiconductor, display, illumination, power and system solutions.
Nu Horizons felt adding someone of Estill’s caliber would help it build on its competitive position in the global marketplace. Things, however, did not work out and Estill left about three months later.
It’s the first time since 1979 that Estill hasn’t been working at a distributor. He maintains his board role at Research In Motion in Waterloo, Ont. During his 30-plus-year career in distribution, Estill reached more than $1 billion in annual sales at Synnex Canada. He founded EMJ Data Systems Ltd., which he grew to over $300 million in revenue before its sale to Synnex and brought popular products from Apple and Acer to the Canadian marketplace.
