Staples Europe Welcomes New Head

Originally written by Joshua Allsopp and published by OPI

Staples Europe appoints head

Staples Solutions has looked to a former tech boss to head up its European branch.

Dolph Westerbos has been appointed CEO, effective 1 November, and joins from global technology distributor Westcon Group where he held the same role.

Prior to Westcon, Westerbos held executive management positions at IT giant Dell, as well as logistics groups Brambles-CHEP and ModusLink.

He takes the helm almost a year after Staples’ European operations split from parent company Staples Inc after it was sold to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Cerberus Senior Managing Director Steven Mayer commented: “Our goal of maximising value for all constituents starts with having great leadership. Dolph is an example of that philosophy, and we look forward to his direction.”

Westerbos added: “I am excited to lead Staples Solutions in this next chapter as it seeks to capture additional market opportunities.”

Given Office Depot’s recent move into IT services – which was foreshadowed by a number of high-profile appointments of former tech executives including CEO Gerry Smith – it is easy to guess what these “additional market opportunities” might be. Perhaps Staples Solutions will be following its US rival’s lead and revitalise its IT offering?