Softchoice announces the promotion of COO Andrew Caprara as the Company’s next CEO, succeeding Vince De Palma, who will transition to the role of Executive Chair of the Board following the next AGM.

Softchoice Corporation (“Softchoice” or the “Company”) (TSX: SFTC) announced today a phased leadership transition plan for Management and the Board. Effective today, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Caprara has been appointed President, in addition to his current role, and will become President & CEO following the Company’s Annual General Meeting (“AGM”), anticipated to be on May 31, 2023. At this time and subject to applicable shareholder approval, Chief Executive Officer Vince De Palma will become Executive Chair for an anticipated period of one to two years as part of the leadership transition. Current Board Chair Félix-Etienne Lebel is anticipated to become Lead Independent Director. Today’s announcement aligns with the first day of Softchoice’s annual Company-wide internal conference.

“The transition and appointment of Andrew as CEO follows an extended Board-led succession planning process,” said Mr. Lebel. “Andrew is the right leader to drive the next stage of Softchoice’s growth and evolution. He embodies Softchoice’s core values, is a champion for our people, our customers, our technology partners, and is committed to delivering on our strategic and financial priorities. We would like to extend our deep appreciation to Vince for his leadership in the successful execution of Softchoice’s growth and transformation strategy, and his commitment to serve as Executive Chair.”

“Serving as Softchoice President & CEO has been the privilege of my career,” said Mr. De Palma. “In a rapidly evolving industry and a critical time for our customers, Andrew is the right leader to take our organization to new heights. I look forward to a smooth leadership transition and to supporting Andrew in my role as Executive Chair.”

“I am honored to lead our ~2,000 talented team members making a mark in the large, dynamic and growing IT industry,” said Mr. Caprara. “The complexity of organizations’ technology environments and the need to efficiently manage budgets is increasing demand for the solutions Softchoice specializes in. We have proven that we have the right strategy to continue expanding our market share by utilizing our deep technical capabilities around Software, Cloud, and Security solutions for our customers to compete and win in their markets.”

About Vince De Palma: Under the leadership of Mr. De Palma, Softchoice has become one of the largest and fastest growing software- and cloud-focused IT Solutions providers in North America. Since his joining as CEO in 2017, the Company has undertaken a strategic transformation to focus on the fastest growing IT market sub-sectors including hybrid multi-cloud, digital workplace and collaboration, software asset management and security, and it has invested in the people, processes and tools to successfully execute on this strategy. Mr. De Palma has also expanded upon Softchoice’s powerful team culture and core values by positioning the Company as a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion and initiating its ESG reporting.

About Andrew Caprara: Mr. Caprara joined Softchoice in 2014 as the Director of Sales and Business Development Operations, followed by increasingly senior executive roles. He was promoted to Vice President of Sales Operations later in 2014, Senior Vice President of Strategy, Planning, and Customer Operations in 2016, and Senior Vice President, Go-To-Market in 2017. He was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2021, where he has led the Company’s Strategy, Business Development, Innovation and Marketing functions and been responsible for Softchoice’s long-term strategy, fostering deep alliances with technology partners, IT solution development, and creating the Company’s differentiated insight-driven go-to-market approach. This has resulted in an expanded customer base and record revenue retention from existing customers due to higher customer retention and an increasing share of their IT spend, including recurring and re-occurring business.

About Softchoice

Softchoice (TSX: SFTC) is a software-focused IT solutions provider that equips organizations to be agile and innovative, and for their people to be engaged, connected and creative at work. That means moving them to the cloud, helping them build the workplace of tomorrow, and enabling them to make smarter decisions about their technology portfolio. For more information, please visit www.softchoice.com

Forward-looking statements

This news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which reflects Softchoice’s current expectations regarding future events, including: (i) the phased leadership transition plan for Management and the Board, consisting of: (a) Mr. Caprara’s transition to CEO, (b) Mr. De Palma’s transition to Executive Chair, and (c) the transition of Mr. Lebel to Lead Independent Director of the Board, in each case following the AGM on or about May 31, 2023; (ii) the approval of shareholders in respect of the changes set out in (i) above, where applicable; (iii) the length of time for the Executive Chair role; (iv) the continued or future growth and evolution of Softchoice; (v) the expansion of Softchoice’s market share; and (vi) the continued growth and rate of growth of the IT industry and various subsectors of the IT market. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control. Actual results could differ materially from those projected herein. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates, the forward-looking information contained in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release and Softchoice does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required under applicable securities laws.

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