Randy Lenaghan has stepped down from the CEO position at Top 100 Solution Provider Navantis Inc. of Toronto.
He is replaced on an interim basis by former LegendCorp founder and President Andy Papadopoulos.
Lenaghan intends to remain with Navantis for a transitional period before he pursues a new opportunity.
Papadopoulos came to Navantis in 2009 through the acquisition of LegendCorp.
“Andy has a terrific track record at Navantis as well as close relationships with our customers,” said Frank Clegg, Chairman, Board of Directors, Navantis “His enthusiasm for our vision and close ties to our sales and delivery teams makes him ideal to step into this interim role. The Board looks forward to working with him as we continue to execute the company’s sales and delivery strategy.”
In an exclusive interview with CDN, Papadopoulos said nothing is changing at Navantis, which won the Microsoft Partner of the Year award in 2012. The direction that was put in place by Lenaghan and the other team leaders remains, Papadopoulos said.
He added that Navantis at 300 people and competencies across the entire stack of Microsoft products, is led by an experienced senior management team & talented employees. “We have smart people here at Navantis and they with Randy formulated a plan where we can adapt and grow with Microsoft. We are going to keep to that plan.”
One area of investment Navantis plans to make is in its managed services business. Since Navantis is focus on the entire Microsoft stack of products the company has seen Microsoft move into this managed services direction with products such as Azure, OnlineCRM, Intune and Office 365.
Another driver, according to Papadopoulos, is that clients are asking for predictable service-based outcomes. “The market is tired with the ups and downs and they want their apps and systems as reliable as their electricity,” Papadopoulos said.
The XP migration is also a growth opportunity for Navantis moving forward. Papadopoulos said customers are looking at Office 365 and Windows 7/8 as the move away from XP, but also they want to have conversations about upgrading their collaboration tools. “They are re-thinking all of the major components of their environment.”
Papadopoulos told CDN that he is fine with the interim tag. “I want what’s best for Navantis and I want to work with this team to make them successful. Navantis has to tell me if I’m the right person for this role long term,” he said.
Papadopoulos led the security, infrastructure and unified messaging business groups at Navantis before he was appointed interim President. Papadopoulos also sits on the Microsoft Partner Advisory Council in Redmond, Wash. and continues to hold a position as a Microsoft Virtual TS (Technology Specialist).
