Joe Mertens

Joe Mertens began his career with Sirius (then known as Star Data Systems) in 1984 and his responsibilities grew to include sales and operations of the company’s wholesale and distribution divisions. In 1997, those divisions were sold to Western Micro and renamed Business Partner Solutions (BPS), of which Mr. Mertens was appointed president and CEO. During his tenure at BPS, sales grew from $237.9 million in 1997 to $767.2 million in 1999 through a combination of organic growth and the integration of six acquisitions.

In 1999, BPS was consolidated into Savoir Technology Group and Mr. Mertens took the helm as the combined company’s president and chief operating officer, with responsibility for all sales and operations in North America.

In July 2000, Avnet Computer Marketing purchased Savoir Technology Group and Mr. Mertens was named executive vice president and general manager of the IBM Business Unit, where he was credited with growing sales to $981 million in 2000. In July 2001, Mr. Mertens moved into a consulting role for Avnet and was named executive vice president of Business Development. He returned to Sirius in May, 2002 as executive vice president, and was named president in April, 2008. In August, 2011, Mr. Mertens was named chief executive officer of Sirius upon the retirement of the company’s founder, Harvey Najim.

Mr. Mertens, a native of Texas, received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin. He has received numerous awards, including the prestigious IBM Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mr. Mertens serves on the IBM Solution Provider Advisory Council, and the board of directors of Sirius Computer Solutions. He has also served on the boards of directors for Network Systems International (NASDAQ:NESI), Appsmall.com, and Savoir Technology Group (NASDAQ: SVTG). Mr. Mertens is a member of the Alexis De Tocqueville Society, and has served on the board of trustees for the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County.