Introducing Harry Wykes: Nexar’s new Business Development Manager Of EMEA

As Octopart and our Nexar Business Unit grow, we continue to expand our sales organization.  We are extremely pleased to announce and welcome Harry Wykes to the business team as Business Development Manager of EMEA!  Harry will be responsible for expanding and forging close relationships with our distributor and manufacturer partners as well as introducing Octopart and Nexar to those that don’t know us in the EMEA region.  Over 42% of Octopart.com users reside in Europe! 

Harry joins us from RS Components where he was Digital Marketing Manager for global affiliate relationships.  Harry has experience engaging and managing accounts, partnerships, and communications on a global scale.  He has seen the benefits and ROI an electronics distributor can experience in partnership with the power of a platform like Octopart.

Let’s meet Harry now!

So what brought you to Octopart? 

I’ve been working with Octopart for the last couple of years through RS Components, my former employer, and we achieved a lot of amazing things through the partnership. I saw the forward-thinking nature of the business, as well as the developments that Octopart were doing behind the scenes on some pretty cool projects, so when the opportunity came up that I could join the company, it was a no-brainer!

How would you describe your new role?

My role will be to strengthen those existing partnerships that we have in EMEA that are core to our business and help these relationships develop and flourish further. I will also be responsible for reaching those prospective customers that we have not had the resources to speak to yet, and introduce all of the exciting things we are doing here at Octopart and Nexar.

What changes do you foresee happening in the industry?

That’s really hard to answer as we've seen such a shift in the last two years of how the end customer behaves. We do know that having a strong digital presence is key to growth, especially with all of the supply chain shortages.  I can also tell you from my personal experience and my short time here at Octopart, that customers want to work smarter, and use data to help them make better decisions for their business.  They need trusted real-time data and trends from the supply chain and design industries, and that is something that Octopart/Nexar excels in.

What initially drew you to the tech sector?

I guess it was through the electronics industry. Electronics tech has always been intriguing to me. So I find the industries we serve interesting as well; like manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, and defense - it’s all rather fascinating.

What advice would you give to someone trying to move into the tech industry or starting out in the tech industry?

My advice is to set yourself clear goals and work backwards from there. You must understand what skills and knowledge you need to develop in order to be a valuable candidate for that industry. From there, work hard and keep looking forward.

Last question. What are your hobbies? 

I really enjoy rugby. I absolutely love it. I’ve played it since the age of probably about six years old and I still play now. I like pretty much anything that involves cars as well. Motorsport is another big passion of mine. I also like to spend my evenings reading and cooking. At the moment I'm reading a book called Riding Rockets, and it's by an American guy called Mike Mullane. It’s based on his experience working as an astronaut for NASA in the 1970s, it’s very interesting.