GTSI begins its makeover

GTSI Corp. Chairman Dendy Young has given up the CEO title as the value-added reseller shakes up its structure, including the lay off of about 10 percent of its workforce.In the restructuring of its executive offices, James Leto, most recently CEO of program management firm Robbins-Gioia LLC of Alexandria, Va., will come on board as the new president and CEO, while Young will remain as chairman and focus on strategy and alignment of the business.Young said the move to split the chairman and CEO positions is an "essential corporate governance best practice." Leto will retain his spot as a member of GTSI's board of directors, a post he's held since 1996.The restructuring extends past the executive level, however. In the second layoff in five months, the value-added reseller is cutting 80 jobs, leaving the company with 760 employees. Cuts in October eliminated more than 90 employees.The cuts are the first step in Chantilly, Va.-based GTSI's strategy to recover from problems with an internal system and move forward with its strategic plan to increase its solutions business, Young said.Next, GTSI will focus on continuing to improve its internal processes, including its quote-to-order process and invoicing. In the last stage, the company will focus on more sophisticated solutions, Young said.Like many resellers, GTSI is trying to shift its business model from selling products to offering more solutions and services. The job cuts were necessary in part because of that shifting focus, Young said.GTSI previously said that problems implementing its enterprise resource planning system were partially to blame for weaker financial results in 2005.