The Soft Pitch

The 50th Anniversary of Avnet being listed on the NYSE is a unique milestone….only 350 companies have ever done is truly a prideful moment for our leadership team and employee brand ambassadors..

For my corporate communications team and our extended marcom folks globally it is a PR dream. We are having fun telling our story of trust, financial sustainability, adaptabilityand culture with this.

One small piece of this program was getting a custom cake created by Carlos Bakery in Hoboken, N.J. Frank, Mauro, Angelo and their team did an awesome job…3 shipping boxes w Avnet and NYSE logos, 50th logo and popping out were symbolic pcb with component products and embedded monitor we sell. Nearby were a bell and gavel all on stock tickers…we were at $38 and in the green. The cake was big and heavy…ready to serve 300.

Looks like cardboard, but that really frosting on the cake being cut by CEO Roy Vallee in celebration of Avnet's 50 years on the NYSE!

My wife and I watch the the TV show that has made them and Buddy famous. She hinted months ago why not celebrate in NY with a birthday cake. Our committee working on the project lead by CFO Ray Sadowski, VP of Investor Relations,Vince Keenan, IR’s Andrea Miner and my co-blogger Michelle Gorel ate the idea up and we gave Buddy and friends a call. They created a design and then our team suggested some modifications and our artist Tara created a concept they matched to a T. Bada Bing !

The day before I stopped by to see if they were in the ball park…if you watch their show….u know they would be. I was not disappointed. When I got out of the car in Frank Sinatra”s hometown ( a real nice area) it was cold…20 people were standing in line outside…inside the Carlos the bakery was packed !

It all looked familiar, so did the employees. Eventually I was brought back in the area they make the cakes each week. The area is small. I met the lead baker on the project Frank Amato…he is always in trouble and my favorite star that I can relate to. Ins up he worked on the NYSE and so did his father. Very cool.

On the big day, I went up to see the cake and low and behold who is looking at it…NYSE CEO, Duncan Niederauer. He loved it. He thought it was real…a bunch of boxes on the cart. He said heard it was done by the Cake Boss (on TLC) who his kids love. He said is partial to Duff, on Ace of Cakes in Baltimore. I replied I had seen that show !!!  By now everyone is stopping to see it and taking photos. I told him more about Avnet’s big day and said he wanted to come down for some cake.

Behind the scenes at At Carlos Bakery....Frank Amato and Al Maag with pcb creation for NYSE 50th cake.

At noon after the first half of the Avnet analyst meeting ended Roy Vallee our proud Chairman and CEO promised a special anniversary treat and he delivered. the cake was rolled in…and once the the 75 attendees figured it out…they were laughing and up taking photos. Analysts are usually a pretty conservative bunch not this time… they all were milling around smiling and shooting photos.  Roy had honors in cutting the cake…not sure if he made a wish…if so I hope it was for $50 a share. Duncan did come down and say hello to our leadership team.

We all had a piece, it was awesome…cannoli filling and yellow cake with chocolate frosting easily some big calories…we more took photos. Vince wanted strawberry filled. Ray and I had more votes because he was paying. I’m half Italian and placing the order so I would win somehow. We saved some for our spouses coming for the closing bell ringing at 4pm (another story).

The rest went to where we sell our stock on the floor. Bank of America/ML Kristian and team loved sharing with 200 friends. They were like locust on a grain field. Avnet’s brand became well known quickly as our NYSE support person Caroline went around the whole floor. Nicole from FOX Business even had to step by. Quite a few of the folks said they knew Frankie from Carlo’s Bakery. He had visited that am.

It was hit on a huge scale. One trader said he has been on the floor for years…best gimmick he has seen to get the floor a buzz. Anlaysts even mentioned the cake in their reports and noted our celebration…no wonder our stock went up ! My fav was “Avnet Analyst Day a Piece of Cake”

Geez now what have we started…Next year? pie? cupcakes? pudding? food fight…

Thank you Carlos Bakery…Thank you NYSE team. Anyway ya look at it it was sweet day.

A proud moment for CEO Roy Vallee and team ringing the Closing Bell at the NYSE.

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