AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS--(Marketwired - Jul 13, 2016) - (GTDC European HQ) -- The Global Technology Distribution Council today announced the addition of ELKO Group and TIM AG as its newest members in the EMEA region, plus the appointment of WestconGroup CEO Dolph Westerbos to the organization's Executive Committee. The moves further bolster the GTDC's position as the world's leading IT distribution organization. GTDC members drive more than $130 billion in annual worldwide sales of products, services and solutions through dynamic business channels.

ELKO, a Riga, Latvia-based distributor, operates in 10 Eastern European countries, while selling and supporting a wide range of systems, software, desktop and mobile solutions/tablets, consumer and multimedia products, as well as related solutions and services. Founded in 1993, ELKO is owned by several private equity groups and was added to the Nasdaq Baltic Bond List in March 2016. The company reported sales of $1.26 billion in 2015.

TIM, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, is a value-added distributor founded in 1985 with sharp focus on comprehensive data center solutions. The privately-held company, which also operates in Austria and Switzerland, serves system integrator partners as its primary customer base and has driven continuous growth over the past two decades.

Continuously Strengthening Support for Members Worldwide
As the GTDC continues to expand its services and support for the organization's international members, it recently added Westerbos to its executive committee, as voted on and approved by members. A native of The Netherlands and a highly experienced leader on both sides of the Atlantic, Westerbos brings a unique perspective to the nine-person committee, which steers the GTDC's strategic direction, policies and initiatives. He has been a valuable contributor to the GTDC for the past three years, following his appointment as CEO of WestconGroup, which includes Westcon-Comstor, a long-term GTDC member known for its category-leading solutions in security, collaboration, networking and data center, with extensive capabilities in cloud, services and global deployment. WestconGroup is a subsidiary of Datatec Limited, an international ICT solutions and services group based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

"We're excited about our direction and expansion in 2016," commented GTDC CEO Tim Curran. "We recently hosted our most successful conference ever in Europe, for example, and feel very good about the additions of ELKO and TIM to our EMEA membership. Dolph's extensive channel and industry knowledge will be of great value as we build on our commitment to supporting the success of our members and the distribution industry worldwide."

Peter van den Berg, the GTDC's general manager of Europe, added that the organization's advances in the region are due to its sharp focus on the needs, issues and opportunities of utmost regional importance. "The diverse representation of the global executive committee complements our strategic focus in Europe," he said, "where we listen closely and respond unilaterally to the interests of members doing business here. The combination of global and regional members gives us a complete fully informed perspective."

About The Global Technology Distribution Council
The Global Technology Distribution Council is the industry consortium representing the world's leading tech distributors. GTDC members drive more than $130 billion in annual worldwide sales of products, services and solutions through diverse business channels. GTDC conferences support the development and expansion of strategic supply-chain partnerships that continually address the fast-changing marketplace needs of vendors, end customers and distributors. GTDC members include AB S.A (WSE: ABPL), ABC Data (WSE: ABC), Arrow Electronics (NYSE: ARW), Avnet (NYSE: AVT), Computer Gross Italia (SES: MI), D&H Distributing, ELKO Group, Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM), Intcomex, Logicom (CSE: LOG), SiS Technologies (HKSE: 0529), ScanSource (NASDAQ: SCSC), SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX), Tarsus, Tech Data (NASDAQ: TECD), TIM AG and Westcon-Comstor.