Tempe-based Insight Enterprises Inc.'s board voted September 7, 2009 to fire their CEO, Rich Fennessy. Fennessy, 44, had joined Insight in 2004 after spending 17 years at IBM.

Insight has evolved from a direct market reseller to a solutions provider through a series of acquisitions. The $4.8 billion company has more than 4,000 employees and is ranked number 484 on the 2009 Fortune 500 list. The company was founded in 1988 by Eric and Tim Crown as a reseller of hard drives and other tech products.

Tim Crown, Chairman of the Board and co-founder noted in a press release, "As we look to the future, we believe Insight can continue to evolve and realize its full potential with the help of a new President and Chief Executive Officer focused on driving ongoing improvements in our operational execution and on maximizing shareholder value."

There appears to be no precipitous event to cause the ouster. The company did have an accounting restatement of more than $60 million which prompted several stockholder lawsuits. Comments from anonymous posts to the article in the Arizona Republic complained about the company's direction from a resaler to a solutions provider. Another complained that the middle management changed quite frequently and was not focused on sales. It appears that the board wanted a new CEO with a new vision of the company. As one comment noted, mayble Tim Crown could come back as the CEO. Steve Jobs did it at Apple.

Fennessy and the company signed a separation and release agreement in which Fennessy received a lump sum cash payment of $ 4,460,316, a pro rata portion of his base salary of $750,000 and other compensation. His total compensation for 2008, including salary and stock awards was $2.3 million. Insight's shares closed down 3 cents at $11.84 after the announcement. The stock is near its 52-week high of $16.71.

John Laub is the Chairman of the Phoenix CEO-CFO Group.

1. "Insight's Directors Abruptly Oust CEO." Andrew Johnson. The Arizona Republic. September 9, 2009.

2. "Insight Enterprises." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. September 21, 2009.

3. "Insight Initiates Search for New President and Chief Executive Officer." Company Press Release. Business Wire. September 8, 2009.

4. 8-K Form. Insight Enterprises, Inc. "Separation and General Release Agreement." Exhibit 10.1. Filed September 7, 2009.

5. Form DEF 14A. Insight Enterprises, Inc. Filed May 19, 2009.