Poing, Germany - SILICA, an Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT) company, announced the appointment of Mario Orlandi as new SILICA President with immediate effect. Orlandi most recently served on the SILICA executive team as vice president sales for Europe where he has been instrumental in reorganising the sales organisation and further developing SILICA's sales and demand creation strategy.

Mario Orlandi has nearly three decades of experience in the technology industry and brings a broad spectrum of sales management and market knowledge to the president's role at SILICA.  In his previous role Mario Orlandi was responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of SILICA's 400 strong sales and application engineer team, including the execution of demand creation and design support strategies across Europe.

Says Miguel Fernandez, Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA president, "With his proven experience, Mario is uniquely qualified for this critical position as we continue executing on SILICA's strategy and value proposition.  He will spearhead our drive to exploit the company's full potential across Europe, ensuring that both customers and supplier partners reach optimal success and achieve the greatest business benefit through working with SILICA.  I am confident that these qualities will serve him well in his new role."

Mario joined SILICA in 2004 from Motorola (now Freescale), where he held the position of European distribution sales director. At Motorola, he started as a field sales engineer and progressed through the ranks to the position of sales director. He began his career with SGS Thomson (now STMicroelectronics) as a quality engineer. Over the past 14 years, SILICA has grown to become a premier distributor in Europe, achieving record breaking revenues, continuously expanding its market share and design support capabilities.

About SILICA
SILICA, an Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT) company, is one of the leading semiconductor distributors in Europe. SILICA accelerates its customers' success by connecting 25 technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 15,000 customers and providing in-depth design support and cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For more information, visit www.silica.com

Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA
Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA, a business region of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), is a leading electronics distributor in Europe offering semiconductors, interconnect, passive & electromechanical components from leading manufacturers and supports customers with exceptional technical resources, logistics and supply chain solutions. Avnet EM EMEA operates with a focused customer and supplier strategy, addressing different market segments with dedicated business units: EBV Elektronik, SILICA, Avnet Abacus, Avnet Memec, Avnet Embedded and MSC Technologies combine exceptional engineering and industry knowledge to enable a rapid response to a broad variety of technical and commercial customer needs. Customers benefit from the best range of electronic components, technical support, world class logistics and supply chain solutions. www.avnet.eu

About Avnet, Inc.
Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology serving customers globally. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of customers by providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 28, 2014, Avnet generated revenue of $27.5 billion. For more information, visit www.avnet.com

Editorial Contact
SILICA (Avnet EMG GmbH)
Kerstin Kurth, VP Communications
Phone +49 (0)8121 777-340
kerstin.kurth@silica.com

Anja Woithe
Senior PR Manager - Avnet Electronics Marketing EMEA
Im Technologiepark 2-8, D-85586 Poing
T:+49 (0) 8121 774 459
F:+49 (0) 8121 774 98 439
E: anja.woithe@avnet.eu

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