Ingram Micro Initiates Search for CEO / Jerre L. Stead

to Remain Chairman of the Board / Company Announces PreliminaryEstimates for Third Quarter Financial Results Santa Ana, Calif. (PROTEXT) - Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM),the world's largest wholesale provider of technology products andservices, today announced that it has initiated a search for itsnext chief executive officer to succeed Jerre L. Stead. Steadwill remain chairman of the board and CEO until his successor isin place and then will continue to serve as chairman of theboard. "Ingram Micro has made great strides during the past fewyears, becoming the largest and only global wholesale provider oftechnology products and services," Stead said. "Our company hasthe opportunity to flourish in the future. We will leave 1999 inthe midst of an industry revolution with our company movingthrough a major transition. As we prepare to enter a new century,we must have the best possible leadership in place. Therefore,our board has agreed to start a search for the next CEO of IngramMicro. We look forward to selecting the right person who willbring the experience and skills needed in this dynamic time." The search for the company's next CEO will be conducted by acommittee comprised of independent board members and an executiverecruitment firm. Stead has served as chairman and CEO since 1996 and haspresided over a period of tremendous growth, with the company'srevenues increasing from $12 billion in 1996 to its current sizeof more than $25 billion over the past four quarters. During thattime, Ingram Micro has redefined its role in the technologyindustry, through the addition of a range of value-addedservices, including industry-leading capabilities for e-commerce,vendor and customer outsourcing, and assembly and configuration. Ingram Micro today also announced that, based on previouslydiscussed difficult market conditions primarily in the UnitedStates, it expects to report net income of $15 million to $21million, or earnings per diluted share of $0.10 to $0.14, for thethird quarter ended Oct. 2, 1999. In the third quarter last year,the company reported net income of $60 million, or $0.40 perdiluted share. The company expects to announce its third quarterresults on Oct. 27, 1999. Stead said that competitive pricing, coupled with increasedreductions in vendor rebates and incentives, have placedadditional pressure on the company's gross margins, especially inthe United States. In addition, its efforts to raise prices inselected market segments prompted customers to evaluate othersources for their product purchases, negatively impacting IngramMicro's sales. For the third quarter, net sales are expected toincrease in the mid-teens on a percentage basis compared to thesame period last year, with gross margins declining as much as130 -- 150 basis points below the third quarter of 1998. "We should not let the short-term difficulties obscure thelong-term potential of Ingram Micro." Stead said. "We continue tosee healthy demand for the services we provide, both in our corebusiness as well as in our emerging businesses for reseller andvendor logistics outsourcing and for Internet retail stores.Ingram Micro has been successful in securing these types ofcontracts in the United States and Europe with such companies asCompUSA, Unisys -- and just this week, SARCOM, Telenor IT Service& Installajon in Norway and GE Capital IT Solutions Denmark --and we will continue to pursue new opportunities." Stead also noted that, although the company's reorganizationplans initiated in March were strategically correct and haveresulted in giving the company a very competitive cost structure,implementing these broad changes during a time of major industrytransformation resulted in the company being less focused on itsshort-term execution and unable to respond quickly to importantindustry changes. Because the majority of the reorganizationalchanges were made in the United States, this was the businessmost negatively affected. About Ingram Micro Inc. Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE: IM), headquartered in Santa Ana,Calif., is the world's largest wholesale provider of technologyproducts and services, and a leader of assembly and integrationservices with sales of $25.5 billion for the past four reportedquarters. The company and its subsidiaries operate in 34countries and distribute more than 225,000 products to more than140,000 resellers in 130 countries. Ingram Micro can be found atwww.ingrammicro.com. Ingram Micro is a trademark used under license by Ingram MicroInc. All other logos, brand names and product names aretrademarks of their respective companies. ots Original TextService: Ingram Micro Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: Kim Strohm, Investor Relations, (USA) 714-382-4400; orKathleen Janson, Media Relations, (USA) 714-382-2046, both ofIngram Micro Inc. Web site: http://www.ingrammicro.com

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