It's been a busy year at Agilysys Inc. The company began 2003 as Pioneer-Standard Electronics Inc., a $3.2 billion distributor of electronic components, reseller of computer gear and provider of enterprise systems. Since then the company has shed its components business, adopted a new name and made the first of many anticipated acquisitions. Today Cleveland-based Agilysys has less than half its former revenue - and, the theory goes, more than twice its former prospects, as it seeks growth in the higher-margin, value-adding side of its business.

Sound like a good place to be a corporate dealmaker? It did to Martin Ellis, 38, who joined Agilysys in July as executive vice president for corporate development. Ellis had previously headed the corporate finance department at New York-based financial consulting firm Stern Stewart & Co., where Pioneer was a client. He worked with CEO Arthur Rhein on developing the new strategy, and when the opportunity arose to help implement it, he leaped. Raised in South Africa and educated there and at the University of Rochester, Ellis had spent much of his career giving advice. "You make a recommendation, and then you withdraw," he says. Now he's on hand for "the fruits of the work."

Yet there's more to Ellis' new job than helping to formulate and implement the strategy. As head of investor relations for Agilysys, he's also called upon to explain it - something he does with the care you would expect from a veteran of Stern Stewart, known for its conservative, cash-centric approach to finance. "A company's stock price is based on existing business, and also future expectations of performance," he says. Investors in a refocused Agilysys will be better able to gauge the company's future with help "from somebody who has day-to-day involvement in the strategic direction of the company."

What Agilysys wants in general is to get closer to the final customer. Providing components to manufacturers had become a low-margin business, favoring the biggest players. Hence the sale of the components business to Arrow Electronics Inc. in January for $285 million in cash. On the other hand, Agilysys sees a big opportunity to expand its business supplying integrated systems to midsize companies - an area where the competition consists mainly of smaller, privately held businesses, many of which are candidates for acquisition.

Agilysys announced its first such acquisition in September: the purchase of Greenville, S.C.-based Kyrus Corp. for $31 million in cash. With $130 million in revenue, privately held Kyrus is a leading provider of systems and services to retailers. And retailing is just one of many sectors where Agilysys can expand. "We would certainly look at other vertical companies as well," says Ellis.

The corporate development post is a brand-new one at Agilysys. The IR job isn't, but it has obviously taken on more significance for the Nasdaq-listed company. So far Ellis, who reports to Rhein, has been much busier with the first. Investor outreach is part of his brief, but he's mindful that he needs to reach out with more than a vision. "We've stated where we want to take the company," he says. "I think most investors and analysts want to wait and see if we deliver the performance." The company showed a narrow loss in the quarter just ended, partly because it has retained an administrative structure suitable for a much larger company. "If we expected to remain a $1.2 billion business, we'd resize the cost structure," Ellis says. "But that's not our intention."

The course has been charted. And in his future conversations with shareholders, Ellis can also point out that he and Rhein are definitely along for the ride. In September both men bought blocks of stock on the open market. Ellis paid about $49,000 for 5,000 shares of the company. - Kenneth Klee

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