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Avnet announced on July 22, 2019, that it was promoting Prince Yun, then sales president for Avnet Asia, to president of Avnet Asia Pacific. The company said he would lead its multi-billion-dollar regional business, overseeing sales, supplier relationships, product marketing and business operations, and report to Phil Gallagher, then Avnet’s global president of electronic components.
What Avnet announced
The move was an internal promotion, not an external hire. In its July 22, 2019 announcement, Avnet named Yun president of Avnet Asia Pacific and said he would report to Gallagher. The announcement describes Gallagher’s role as global president of electronic components, not chief executive of Avnet.
Avnet characterized the Asia-Pacific operation Yun was to lead as a “multi-billion dollar” business. The company did not provide a precise revenue figure, country-by-country breakdown or employee count.
Yun’s experience and previous roles
Before the promotion, Yun was sales president for Avnet Asia. Avnet also described his earlier position as regional president for Taiwan and South Asia. The move therefore broadened his remit from a sales leadership role to responsibility for the wider regional business.
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Avnet said Yun had more than 30 years of semiconductor-industry experience, with business-management and sales expertise, experience managing a multi-million-dollar business, and established industry relationships. According to the announcement, he joined Avnet Asia through Avnet’s 1988 acquisition of Mercuries & Associates.
Avnet also said that during Yun’s tenure as regional president for Taiwan and South Asia, the company was named among the “Best Companies to Work for” in Taiwan, Singapore and India in 2018. That is Avnet’s account of the recognition and its connection to Yun’s tenure.
What the Asia-Pacific president was responsible for
The announcement assigned Yun four areas of responsibility:
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- Supplier relationships
- Product marketing
- Business operations
Taken together, these responsibilities describe broad commercial and operational leadership, rather than a title change confined to Avnet’s sales organization. For a distributor, sales and supplier relationships connect customers’ demand with component makers’ products; product marketing and operations support how that business is brought to customers across the region.
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Avnet’s stated priorities for the region
Yun said he wanted to extend Avnet’s technology solutions across the industry and support customers throughout the product lifecycle, helping reduce the time, cost and complexity of bringing products to market. He also emphasized expanding end-to-end Internet of Things solutions and drawing on Avnet’s network of experts and suppliers to create value.
These remarks set out strategic themes, not specific targets or announced initiatives. The release did not give revenue goals, name new country programs, or describe a particular IoT product launch tied to Yun’s appointment.
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- Author: Bungay Stanier, Michael.
- Publisher: Page Two
- Pages: 244
- Publication Date: 2016-02-29
- Edition: 1
Gallagher endorsed Yun on the basis of his industry knowledge, customer and supplier relationships, and ability to lead the region. That was Gallagher’s assessment of the appointment, rather than an independent evaluation.
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Why the promotion mattered—and what it does not show
The promotion put a long-serving Avnet Asia executive with extensive semiconductor experience in charge of a broader regional business. It also placed regional sales, supplier engagement, product marketing and operations under one leader—areas that fit Avnet’s stated focus on connecting component distribution with technology solutions and support across the product lifecycle. This is a reasonable reading of the remit and the company’s stated priorities, not a disclosed explanation of the appointment’s motive.
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The 2019 announcement does not establish Yun’s subsequent career, whether he remained at Avnet, or whether he still holds the role. It also provides no evidence that the appointment caused a change in Avnet’s financial performance or share price, or that it involved a reorganization. It does not disclose compensation, specific performance targets or an organizational chart.
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