Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> January 18, 1999
CLAUDIO OSORIO is the Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and President of
CHS Electronics, Inc. CHS is the third largest distributor of micro-
computer related products in the world, and the largest in Europe and
Latin America. Mr. Osorio has a law degree from Universidad Catolica
Andres Bello and received his MBA from IESA, both in Caracas, Venezuela.
Mr. Osorio began his career in the computer industry in 1976 at the age
of 17 when he invested $500.00 to open a wholesale sporting goods company
in Caracas, Venezuela. His business ran on an IBM XT system with a
complex accounting program including invoicing, inventory control and
check writing capabilities. He decided to sell the computer and software
system separately and the response was overwhelming. Mr. Osorio used the
$3.3 million profit from the sale of the business to enter the computer
distribution business. Sales reached $10 million the first year. Mr.
Osorio opened his first office in the United States in 1986 in Miami,
Florida. In 1987, Mr. Osorio attended a computer exhibition in Germany,
where he identified significant opportunities in computer distribution.
He met with a group of Taiwanese businessmen who manufactured computer
chassis and power supplies. Together they developed a way to
substantially reduce shippping costs and sell bulk clone components in
Europe less expensively. Over the next two years, sales grew to $40
million. In 1993, Mr. Osorio expanded his operations by purchasing CHS
Electronics Publishing, a Hewlett-Packard distributor in Germany. Sales
grew to $220 million. The company was renamed CHS Electronics, Inc. Mr.
Osorio shifted his strategy from selling clones to selling products
manufactured by select brand vendors, i.e. Hewlett ' Packard, IBM,
Seagate, Microsoft, Novell, 3COM, Espon, and Intel. Through this focused
distribution concept, CHS Electronics began selling products that were in
high demand. Sales grew to $680 million in 1994, and $1 billion in 1995. Profile
the company, just so our readers understand what you're all about?
Mr. Osorio: We are a wholesale distribution
