Exclusive Group Acquires Canadian VAD To Expand Presence Across North America

Laurent Daudré-Vignier takes helm as SVP North America as acquisition of Vancouver-based Fine Tec Canada increases global footprint and complements existing US operations.

PARIS, FRANCE & VANCOUVER, CANADA – February 7th 2019– Exclusive Group, the value-added services and technologies (VAST) group, today announced the acquisition of leading Canadian cybersecurity VAD, Fine Tec Canada, to complement its existing US presence and expand global coverage to the whole of North America. The deal coincides with the appointment of Exclusive Group veteran Laurent Daudré-Vignier as SVP North America to oversee and grow operations across the region. Together this enables vendor, GSI and reseller partners with a complete solution for North American value-added distribution services, and boosts the company’s aggressive global growth trajectory.

“Our success in North America to date has been critical to executing our global strategy, and our intention has always been to build on our US presence with the addition of a leading specialist VAD in the Canadian market,” said Olivier Breittmayer, CEO at Exclusive Group. “We are focused on growing our regional presence, and will benefit from Laurent’s outstanding leadership experience in this area. Fine Tec Canada has a strong local reputation for cybersecurity value-added distribution, with a committed and like-minded group of individuals who will be right at home among our team.”

Headquartered in Vancouver, one of Canada’s primary technology centres, Fine Tec Canada operates throughout the country’s vast interior working closely with over 100 reseller partners. Its main vendor partners include Fortinet – a core strategic partner for Exclusive Group. As part of the acquisition, key management including current CEO Jeff Wu – who becomes Country Manager for Exclusive Networks Canada, reporting to Laurent Daudré-Vignier – will remain in their roles to ensure continuity and execute on an accelerated growth plan for the business.

“Exclusive stands apart by demonstrating unique value both within local markets and on a global scale, and I am delighted to head up our enlarged North American operations as we target continued growth across this region,” said Laurent Daudré-Vignier, SVP North America at Exclusive Group. “I look forward to working with the Fine Tec Canada team and bringing them into the Exclusive family. As the 10thlargest economy in the world, Canada represents a huge market opportunity for our partner base and we are confident in the success we can achieve over the coming years.”

“This is fantastic news for the Fine Tec Canada team and partner ecosystem, and demonstrates the global attractiveness of our unique VAD proposition,” said Jeff Wu, Founder and CEO at Fine Tec Canada. “In particular, our growing community of reseller partners stands to enjoy significant opportunities arising from access to the wider Exclusive Networks vendor portfolio and comprehensive range of value-based services. We also believe there is huge scope to leverage the worldwide capabilities of the Exclusive Group to win more major international projects.”

The acquisition of Fine Tec Canada comes 18 months after Exclusive Group’s acquisition of its US-based VAD namesake, Fine Tec – a separately owned and staffed organisation, but with similar business models, operating principles and vendor portfolios.