Category: People on the Move

Following its recent leadership vacuum,VMware (VMW) has appointed Ray O’Farrell as chief technology officer and chief development officer, responsible for managing the virtualization company’s R&D business units and leading its CTO team. The appointment is effective immediately.

O’Farrell will continue to report to Pat Gelsinger, VMware’s chief executive officer, according to the announcement.

“As VMware continues to evolve its research and development efforts, Ray O’Farrell will work in close partnership with our business unit leaders and world-class R&D teams to drive industry-leading innovation,” said Gelsinger, in a statement. “He brings extensive and invaluable experience in managing a wide range of our global R&D teams as well as developing and releasing many of our most impactful products.”

Prior to his new role, O’Farrell served as general manager for VMware’s Software-Defined Data Center division. He joined the company in 2003 as senior vice president of R&D for the company’s Cloud Infrastructure unit, according to LinkedIn.

O’Farrell will replace Ben Fathi, who left VMware last week after serving as chief technology officer for three years. Fathi was one of several high-level executives to resign from the virtualization company in the past month, including Chief Strategist Chuck Hollis and co-channel chiefs Todd Surdey and David O’Callaghan. VMware has yet to announce new executives for the rest of its still-vacant leadership roles.

Security intelligence solution provider FireMonannounced that company co-founder Jody Brazil has stepped down from his role as CEO, and has been replaced by newly minted president and COO Jim Lewandowski.

The executive shakeup is the result of Brazil’s desire to focus on building FireMon’s security product portfolio, where he will assume the role of chief product strategist, according to the announcement. Lewandowski, who joined the company just over a month ago, will be tasked with leading the company in his stead.

FireMon said it plans to utilize Lewandowski’s experience in the IT industry to gradually double in size over the next three years, with initiatives surrounding expanded business development and new programs.

“Security requires focus and vision,” said Lewandowski, in a statement. “As bad actors become more creative and networks become more sophisticated, effective defenses must meet unprecedented levels of technical innovation and ingenuity. I’m humbled by the opportunity and thankful for the confidence Jody has expressed by choosing me to assume the leadership position of this great company.”

Brazil has been FireMon’s CEO for more than a decade, and helped double the company’s revenue and expand its customer base last year, according to the announcement. FireMon has also seen significant growth in the first half of 2015, including a nearly 40 percent year-over-year increase in bookings and a 45 percent increase in new customers.

“It is an exciting time for me to get back to what I love most – product innovation and strategy,” said Brazil. “The planets have aligned for us with Jim on board, and I have the utmost confidence in him and in the entire FireMon team to drive higher.”

Lewandowski formerly held the CEO position at FireHost, a Dallas-based cloud hosting company prior to his appointment last month. He has also held senior leadership positions at companies including Rackspace, McAfee, Yahoo, BMC and IBM.

FireMon has been in the news a number of times in the past several months, including the company’s new distribution deal with WestConGroup and its acquisition of data analysis vendor Immediate Insight. Lewandowski’s hiring and subsequent promotion is the third in a recent string of executive shakeups, following the company’s hiring of former FishNet Security executives Brandy Peterson and John Van Blaricum earlier this year.

Bruce Klein, the longtime leader of Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) Worldwide Partner Organization, has stepped down from his position as channel chief, the company announced this morning. Klein will be replaced byWendy Bahr, the first woman to run Cisco’s worldwide partner organization in the company’s history.

Klein has served as channel chief of Cisco’s Worldwide Partner Organization for the past three years, and has held several positions during his 11-year tenure with the networking company. Cisco cited his desire to pursue opportunities outside of Cisco as the reason for stepping down from his position.

“We would like to acknowledge Bruce for his great leadership and the significant contribution he has made to Cisco, our customers, and partners during his 11 years with the company. He leaves with our thanks and sincere best wishes,” Cisco said, in an email.

Wendy Bahr will assume the role of senior vice president of the Worldwide Partner Organization as of July 27, according to Cisco. Bahr has worked with Cisco since 2000 and has led the company’s Americas Partner Organization since 2012, responsible for overseeing more than 500 employees and managing Cisco’s Americas ecosystem of 23,000 partners.

“Wendy is known for her focus on the success of our customers and partners, building strong and inclusive organizations, and a collaborative leadership style,” the company said. “She has one of the best 360 degree views of the Partner Organization and an incredible aptitude for partner ecosystem, field operations and enablement, and global expertise with a passion for uncovering new talent and helping grow the leaders of tomorrow.”

Dell reportedly has hired Rory Read, the former AMD (AMD) chief executive, as its new global sales president and chief operating officer (COO), and landed Paul Perez, Cisco’s (CSCO) former Computing Systems Product Group vice president and general manager, as its new Enterprise Group chief technology officer (CTO).

Bloomberg reported Read’s and Perez’s hiring but Dell has yet to confirm the report, although the company is expected to announce the moves today. Read and Perez are expected to report to Marius Haas, Dell chief commercial officer.

Both of the new Dell executives likely will be tasked with helping the vendor to boost its position among enterprise accounts and partners selling to large businesses, leveraging Read’s array of contacts from his days not only at AMD but also at IBM (IBM) and Lenovo, and Perez’s strong server background.

AMD hired Read for its top slot in 2011 to fix its financial bleeding and locate new sources of revenue, but last October he stepped aside in favor of Dr. Lisa Su, who took the company’s reins from her prior post as COO handling its business groups, sales and global operations.

Read’s AMD legacy includes redirecting the company to build chips for game consoles and mobile devices, a strategy that gained the chip maker a market stalwart it previously lacked. On Read’s watch, AMD reduced operating expenditures by approximately 30 percent from 2012 – 2014 and maintained its $1 billion cash storehouse. He currently serves as an executive advisor to the company.

Prior to his AMD tenure, Read ran Lenovo’s North America PC business and previously served 23 mostly PC-centric years at IBM prior to the vendor’s sale of its PC unit to the Chinese company in 2005.

Perez’s responsibilities at Cisco spanned its $3 billion Unified Computing Systems (UCS) portfolio, including UCS servers, the UCS Central and Cloupia portfolio and the partner ecosystems for the vendor’s Data Center Group.

Perez, who also served as Cisco’s Data Center Group chief technology officer (CTO), had a 27-year tenure at Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) before joining Cisco in 2011. At HP, Perez was CTO for HP’s ProLiant and BladeSystem lineups and held a similar title for HP’s enterprise storage business.

VMware (VMW) announced it has appointed Bask Iyer as its new senior vice president and chief information officer, replacing former CIO Tony Scott, who left the company to take the helm of U.S. CIO under President Barack Obama.

Iyer, who currently holds the same position at Juniper Networks (JNPR), is expected to join VMware on March 23, according to the announcement. He will report to Jonathan Chadwick, VMware’s chief financial offer, chief operating officer and executive vice president.

“Bask has extensive experience as a strategic and operational leader. He will play a pivotal role in leading VMware and helping our customers as we deliver the reality of the software-defined enterprise,” said Chadwick, in a statement. “We are excited to have Bask join the VMware executive team and an all-star group of IT professionals.”

Iyer has more than 25 years of experience in IT leadership under his belt, including his tenure as CIO at companies including Honeywell and GlaxoSmithKline Beecham, according to the announcement.

“I am thrilled to lead information technology for VMware and join the team that helps VMware meet the needs of more than 500,000 customers worldwide,” said Iyer. “And, I am excited by the opportunity to showcase VMware’s suite of exceptional products as a central component of VMware’s own IT solution.”

Iyer’s appointment comes just weeks after Scott was chosen by President Obama as the new United States CIO. Scott, who formerly held the same posts at Microsoft (MSFT) and Walt Disney Co., replaces interim CIO Lisa Schlosser, who also serves as deputy administrator for the Office of E-Government and Information Technology, Office of Management and Budget. The position originated during Obama’s first term, with Vivek Kundra serving as the country’s first CIO in 2009.

ForeScout Technologies has named former Intel Security president Michael DeCesare CEO in a bid to capture a larger segment of the information security market.

The monitoring and mitigation vendor plans to use DeCesare’s 20-plus years of experience in the security industry to bolster its existing network visibility offerings and capitalize on the company’s success in 2014. Prior to his appointment at ForeScout, DeCesare served as president of Intel Security, and also held leadership positions at companies including EMC and Oracle (ORCL).

“The explosion of mobile devices, cloud and wireless access has thrown a giant spotlight on securing the network. This is where the action is, and the rapid growth of network security companies proves it,” said DeCesare, in a statement. “I’ve admired ForeScout’s technology as second to none, and there is no question that in the age of big breaches, ForeScout is poised to become a significant player with an important role in restoring trust and confidence in the digital environment.”

DeCesare is scheduled to take over as CEO on March 2. Current interim CEO T. Kent Elliot will continue as a non-employee member of the company’s board of directors once DeCesare is in place, where he will provide strategic insight and advice to the executive management team, according to the announcement.

Elliot has served as CEO since July, after the company quietly replaced former chief executive officer Gord Boyce, according to CRN. Elliot was CEO between 2003 and 2009 but stepped down to allow Boyce to take over in 2010.

“We are in a position to truly revolutionize the security space,” said Hezy Yeshurun, co-founder and chairman of the board of ForeScout.  “As we embark on our next growth phase, Michael DeCesare is the visionary we wanted to help ForeScout capitalize on the opportunities ahead.”

MaintenanceNet has recruited industry veterans Justin Crotty as vice president of Global Sales and Steven Merten as vice president of Professional Services in a bid to build on the company’s success in 2014.

The service revenue generation service provider said both men will use their experience in the channel to help MaintenanceNet gain traction in the global market as the company continues to expand its services to more distributors and resellers.

“It’s a big win for MaintenanceNet and our customers to have these exceptional executives join our team,” said Shayne Skaff, MaintenanceNet president and co-founder, in a statement. “Their leadership will be instrumental to our ongoing success as we enter our second decade of business, expand our global operations and identify new ways to drive revenue growth for our customers.”

Crotty holds more than 20 years of experience in the IT channel, and most recently served as general manager and senior vice president at NetEnrich, an IT infrastructure management and operations services provider. Prior to his role at NetEnrich, Crotty was responsible for developing North America’s first IT managed and cloud services distribution model as an Ingram Micro (IM) executive, according to the announcement. He will be responsible for overseeing MaintenanceNet’s global sales teams, sales operations and sales resources in his new role.

“The opportunity in service revenue generation is huge and growing, and MaintenanceNet has led the market with groundbreaking advancements in data visualization, channel enablement and service sales automation,” said Crotty. “My focus will be to further develop our business in North America and internationally, guiding our customers to adopt a more effective service-driven business model to align with today’s increasingly service-driven economy.”

As vice president of MaintenanceNet’s Professional Services team, Merten will be tasked with improving the customer experience for the company’s network of global clients, according to the announcement. Merten has held senior-level positions in the healthcare and technology industries, including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Avnet Technology Solutions and Infor.

“In heading up the professional services team, my aim is to ensure that no matter how fast the pace of business, we are going above and beyond to make our customers’ success our top priority,” said Merten.

MaintenanceNet reported worldwide service contracts in excess of $3 billion in 2014, marking one of the company’s most profitable years to date, according to the press release. The company also launched its new ServiceExchange Service Revenue Generation Platform and showed year-over-year revenue growth of 50 percent in 2014 due to its success in attracting new distributors and resellers.

Verizon (VZ) elevated John Stratton, its former Global Enterprise and Consumer Wireline boss, to head its wireless business, replacing Dan Mead, who served as the unit’s chief executive since 2010 and will retire after overseeing the sale of the telecom carrier’s wireline operations in California, Florida and Texas to Frontier Communications.

With Stratton’s ascension, Verizon now joins carriers T-Mobile (TMUS), Sprint (S) and AT&T (T) with new chiefs, all of whom have been appointed in the last two years.

Verizon disclosed the change in leadership in an 8-K SEC filing dated February 17, in which the company said it “reorganized its operating structure.” In the filing, Verizon said Stratton’s official title is Executive Vice President and President of Operations, tasked with “operational responsibility for Verizon’s wireless and wireline businesses.”

Stratton will continue to report to Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and chief executive.

Until his official retirement, Mead will serve in a new role as Executive Vice President and President of Strategic Initiatives, Verizon said. Verizon said it expects Mead to retire “following the completion of the strategic initiatives on which he is working.” Verizon and Frontier expect their deal will be completed in the first half of 2016.

Stratton previously served as Verizon’s Global Enterprise and Consumer Wireline executive vice president and president, overseeing its Consumer, Mass Business, Enterprise Solutions and Global Wholesale Operating Units, along with handling its wireline network, cloud computing, and cyber-security platforms.

He also served as president of Verizon Enterprise Solutions, with responsibility for Verizon’s solutions for business and government customers, key verticals, IT consulting services and global wholesale offerings. In addition, had a stint as Verizon Wireless’ executive vice president and chief operating officer, and executive vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO) of Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless.

A Verizon spokesperson told FierceWireless the carrier will not fill Stratton’s most recent post because his new role calls for him to handle both Verizon’s wireless and wireline operations.

Kaspersky Lab North America has appointed Kim Stevens as its new director of VAR Channel Sales, responsible for developing the security vendor’s VAR strategy and sales performance. She will report directly to John Murdock, Kaspersky’s channel chief.

Stevens plans to leverage her position to focus on growing Kaspersky’s business with strategic partners who understand the opportunities available in the cybersecurity market. She also will work to take a targeted approach to solving partner issues and continuing Kaspersky’s efforts to attract more midmarket and enterprise partners.

“My initial plans are to make sure that our team is really focused on strategic partners and investing in those partners … to help grow the business,” said Stevens, in an interview with The VAR Guy.

Stevens has worked in the IT industry for more than 20 years, and has held leadership positions at companies including NEC, Acronis, EMC and Cisco Systems (CSCO). She also worked for 10 years at IBM, spending seven of those years in the company’s Channel Sales division, according to the announcement.

Kaspersky’s former director of VAR Channel Sales, Jim Sullivan, was promoted to vice president of SMB Sales, where he will be responsible for overseeing the company’s small and midmarket sales organizations in North America. He will report to Mike Parise, Kaspersky’s senior vice president of Corporate Sales.

Together, Stevens and Murdock said Kaspersky will continue to build out its partner program this year, with Murdock teasing the appointment of several new channel executives and the addition of more partner resources for demos, evaluations and training. The company is expected to reveal more details on its growing partner program during next month’s Kaspersky Lab North American Partner Conference in Miami.

“I’m thrilled that Kim has joined the team here,” said Murdock. “She brings a lot of great experience to the table and she’s a very partner-centric leader. So I think the leadership she is going to continue to bring to the culture we have here is going to be tremendous.”