This milestone represents a century of transformation and resilience, and Avnet's Centennial Central website celebrates the people, values and foundations that have helped the company thrive in its 100-year history.
"Congratulations to the employees, leaders, partners, shareholders and customers who have helped the company reach this important anniversary. Their talents, relationships and innovative spirit will help us further advance technology into the next century." said Phil Gallagher, CEO of Avnet. "Less than 1% of US-based companies reach this milestone. We are honored to join the elite group of companies that have reached their centennial. In one hundred years, Avnet has grown from a small parts shop to a global distributor and solutions provider firmly at the centre of the technology value chain. These past one hundred years have been driven by generations of employees who continue to shape and transform Avnet to meet new market challenges and deliver world-changing technology solutions to our customers and suppliers.".
Over the years, Avnet has embarked on a continuous transformation alongside the evolving technology market and has enabled its customers to accelerate technology development through its expertise in component distribution and deep knowledge of the global supply chain. Avnet is ranked 169th on the FORTUNE 500, 579th on the Forbes Global 2000 list and has been named one of the most ethical companies in the world for seven consecutive years. Ethisphere for seven consecutive years.
Avnet, a century of history
Founded in 1921 by Charles Avnet, a 33-year-old Russian immigrant, the company opened its first factory to assemble military antennas in the 1940s. In the late 1950s, it was listed on the American Stock Exchange as Avnet Electronics Corp. In the 1960s and 1970s, the company made guitars for, among others, The Beatles and Richie Havens, entered the aerospace industry, began working with Intel and opened an office in Tokyo. This was followed by innovations in warehouse management, expansions in product lines and 68 acquisitions between 2000 and 2020.
