Category: People on the Move

Mobile device makerBlackBerry (BBRY) has appointed David Kleidermacher as its new chief security officer. In his role, Kleidermacher will be responsible for ensuring the success of BlackBerry’s Product Security organization and driving the company’s initiatives in secure enterprise mobility.

Kleidermacher will also oversee BlackBerry’s security-specific research and product development as well as the company’s product certification and approval program, according to the announcement.

“David is an outstanding addition to our best-in-class security team, and he will help extend BlackBerry’s gold standard of security as we work with customers to meet new cybersecurity challenges,” said John Chen, executive chairman and CEO of BlackBerry, in a statement. “In particular, David’s knowledge of securing the Internet of Things and embedded systems will be invaluable as we execute on our strategy and continue to expand our management of the world’s mobile endpoints.”

Kleidermacher is a 20-year veteran of the IT industry, and most recently served as chief technology officer (CTO) at Green Hills Software, an operating systems and embedded development solutions provider.  He also spent several years as CTO for INTEGRITY Global Security, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Just last month, Reuters reported that Samsung planned to acquire BlackBerry to the tune of $7.5 billion, but both companies quickly denied the claim.

BlackBerry completed its own acquisition of German data theft and anti-eavesdropping solution provider Secusmart in early January, with the goal of strengthening its secure enterprise mobility portfolio and end-to-end security solutions.

Ex-Ingram Micro (IM) executive Tim Acker has joined Synnex (SNX) as vice president of Mobility and Connected Solutions as the distributor looks to grow its mobile offerings.

In his new role, Acker will work with carriers and OEMs to expand the distributor’s mobile services division, according to the announcement. Acker will also be tasked with running Synnex’s MobilitySolv program.

“With more than 20 years of demonstrated results around mobility, computing, digital media, software, fulfillment and e-commerce, Tim has helped companies dramatically grow revenue, optimize processes, develop new products and solutions and improve profitability,” said TJ Trojan, senior vice president of Product Management at Synnex, in a statement.

Synnex said it will leverage Acker’s expertise in mobility solutions as the former senior director and general manager at Ingram Micro Mobility to capitalize on increasing mobile device opportunities related to the Internet of Things.

During his tenure at Ingram Micro, Acker was responsible for developing the distributor’s enterprise mobility and IoT businesses. He was also a driving force behind the creation of Ingram’s wearables and accessories business following the company’s acquisition of BrightPoint, according to the announcement. Prior to his time at Ingram Micro, Acker held senior-level positions with companies including Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Digital River. He also served as co-owner and principal at Evolve Partners, according to CRN.

Acker’s decision to leave Ingram Micro is the second instance of one of the distributor’s leading executives leaving for another company in the past four months, CRN reported. In November, Ingram Micro Advanced Technology Division Vice President Jay Miley left to become president of PCM, a solution provider specializing in services and solutions for businesses, government and educational institutions.

There has been no word on Acker’s replacement at Ingram Micro or how his departure will affect the company’s mobility unit. Acker was not available to comment on his new position.

Security vendor Sophos has appointed Joe Levy as its new chief technology officer, responsible for leading the company’s technology strategy across all theaters.

Levy will also be responsible for helping the company improve its product vision and develop new ways to simplify IT security, according to the announcement. Prior to his appointment at Sophos, Levy served as CTO for several companies, including Solera Networks and Blue Coat Systems, which acquired Solera in 2013.

“Joe shares our vision that the next generation of security solutions will require disruptive innovation both in capabilities and in usability,” said Kris Hagerman, chief executive officer for Sophos, in a statement. “His technical expertise and vision will be critical as we build new solutions to meet the growing demands of our customers.”

Levy brings more than 20 years of experience in the channel with him to his position at Sophos, including firsthand knowledge of the VAR community from his time at OneNet, according to the press release.

“As a global leader in endpoint, network, and data security, and with a powerful cloud security platform, Sophos has all the technology needed to deliver the complete security solution that customers require,” said Levy. “This is a great time to become part of the Sophos team.”

Sophos recently acquired cloud security firm Mojave Networks in October for an undisclosed sum in a bid to strengthen its cloud-managed and appliance-based security solutions. The company expected to integrate Mojave’s technology into the Sophos Cloud product line this year, with integration for its appliance-based network security solutions planned in the near future.

The Cloud Foundry Foundation, which oversees the (almost) eponymous open source project for PaaS cloud computing, today announced a new CEO, Sam Ramji, who says he is committed to continuing to grow the project and the industry collaboration that undergirds it.

The organization is touting Ramji’s appointment as evidence of the project’s commitment to promoting cooperation between companies in building an open source cloud PaaS that fits the needs of industry partners across the channel. “Ramji’s absence of ties to any of the Foundation’s member companies underscores the community’s embrace of coopetition between major vendors to drive Cloud Foundry’s success,” the organization said in a statement.

Promoting continued cooperation between companies to support Cloud Foundry is a key goal for Ramji in his new role. “Cloud Foundry has quickly become the way applications are built on the cloud,” he said. “Major corporations on the supply and demand sides of the cloud market are putting significant resources behind what we’re doing. They’re doing so because they know they can commit to Cloud Foundry as their cloud platform with confidence.”

Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, which supports Cloud Foundry as a collaborative project, added, “The growth of the Cloud Foundry project is really phenomenal. We’re seeing it primarily through increasing community contributions and new investments from the most innovative companies in the cloud computing space. When an open source project is experiencing this kind of growth, it is critical to have a neutral leader in place who can support the project and community and facilitate that momentum. Sam’s experience in the application development market and open source community makes him the perfect fit for helping to drive this project into the future.”

Ramji has previous experience at Apigee, BEA WebLogic Integration (now owned byOracle) and Microsoft’s open source division. He is also board secretary of the Outercurve Foundation.

Hitachi America has appointed company veteran Jack Domme as its new chief executive for the Americas as it seeks to provide its management team with more control over key business decisions.

Domme is scheduled to assume his new role as of April 1, when he will also be promoted to executive officer for Hitachi from his previous position as corporate officer, according to the announcement. Domme’s new role will require him to represent the Hitachi Group in interactions with companies and customers in the Americas, as well as promote localization and create regional growth strategies.

The move to place more decision-making power in the hands of its leadership team is part of Hitachi’s new “autonomous decentralized global management” strategy, which seeks to speed up the decision-making process and accelerate global growth, according to the company. Hitachi said the new management philosophy is a key aspect of its ongoing effort to grow its Social Innovation Business.

“Social Innovation is a key differentiator for the company, and it presents tremendous opportunities to accelerate our global growth and market leadership around the world,” said Domme, in an email. “We are uniquely positioned to drive this global growth by delivering integrated solutions for key industries such as telecommunication, health care and public safety, in addition to identifying new and emerging solutions. The world is changing at an unprecedented rate, and Hitachi must transform faster, innovate more quickly, and collaborate even more closely with our customers along the way, to help them transform and thrive.”

Domme will continue to serve in his current position as CEO of Hitachi Data Systemsfollowing his promotion, where he has worked to transition the company from a storage provider into a software and solutions provider, according to the press release. He will also assume executive-level positions for several of Hitachi’s other divisions, including chairman of the board and CEO of Hitachi Information & Telecommunication Systems Global Holdings Corporation.

Hitachi said it has no plans to alter its relationship with partners despite the company’s new corporate strategy.

“The relationship between HDS and its partners will not change. The management team remains in place and the company will continue to be a strong partner,” said an HDS representative in an email to The VAR Guy. “Over time, HDS partners and customers will benefit from the many new insights and capabilities—particularly in Social Innovation—that we expect to unlock by leveraging the synergies of HDS and other Hitachi companies.”

Tony Scott, currentlyVMware’s (VMW) chief information officer (CIO) who held the same posts atMicrosoft (MSFT) and at The Walt Disney Co., is the new U.S. CIO and administrator of the Office of Electronic Government in the Office of Management and Budget(OMB).

Last Thursday, President Obama named Scott to the U.S. CIO post, filling a role vacant since Steven VanRoekel, a former Microsoft executive, left the position last September that he held since 2011. VanRoekel had succeeded Vivek Kundra, who president Obama tapped to be the country’s first-ever CIO in 2009.

Scott will replace Lisa Schlosser, who has served as the interim CIO while also holding down her role as the Deputy Administrator, Office of E-Government and Information Technology, Office of Management and Budget.

Shaun Donovan, White House Office of Management and Budget director, and Beth Cobert, White House Office of Management and Budget deputy director, wrote in a blog post that Scott’s appointment “as the next United States Chief Information Officer is an important opportunity for our Nation. With the radical evolution of information technology (IT), the Federal Government has unprecedented opportunity to enhance how we deliver services to the American people and spark greater innovation in the digital age,” the OMB directors said.

“Tony is the right person to drive the Administration’s Smarter IT Delivery Agenda and the core objectives across the Federal IT portfolio,” they said. Donovan and Cobert identified the core objectives as driving value in Federal IT investments, delivering world-class digital services, and protecting Federal IT assets and information.

The government said it will offer more details on Scott’s responsibilities in a few weeks.

According to his VMware profile, Scott managed the virtualization vendor’s global information technology organization. In his prior stint at Microsoft from 2008 – 2013, Scott oversaw the vendor’s security, infrastructure, messaging and business applications, including supporting its product groups, corporate business groups, global sales and marketing organization.

Toshiba America Information Systems has appointed company veteran Richard Vaughn as the new director of Channel Sales for its Business Solutions Division.

As the Americas channel chief, Vaughn will be tasked with leading the Business Solutions Division’s channel strategy and in expanding its reseller base and revenue opportunities, according to the announcement. Vaughn also will be responsible for providing continued support for Toshiba’s vertical market segments, including education, health care and enterprise.

“Over my 18 years at Toshiba, we’ve built many strong partnerships within the channel,” said Vaughn, in a statement. “With our increasing investment in the channel, my team has been able to focus even more on and providing customized programs for resellers in segments such as education, health care and enterprise and helping them create new revenue opportunities.”

Vaughn has been with Toshiba for 18 years, holding several executive positions including major account manager as well as a stint as the company’s director of Sales. Most recently, Vaughn ran Toshiba’s Digital Products Division channel sales, according to the announcement.

“The channel has always been immensely important to our business for nearly two decades, but for the past several years we’ve focused on a select group of resellers,” saidMark Simons, president and CEO, Toshiba America Information Systems. “With the creation of BSD and with Richard in place as Channel Chief, we are primed to expand our reseller base and deliver even more value to our channel partners and their end users.”

In May, Toshiba’s Cloud Services and Solutions Division formed a new partner programto integrate the company’s Virtual Desktop Service into its product portfolio. The program also allows MSPs to fully customize their SKUs and build custom solutions for their customers.

Xerox (XRX) has appointed Kurt Schmelz as president of the new U.S. Channel Group within the company’s Channel Partner Operations.

The U.S. Channel Group integrates Xerox’s North American Agent Operations and U.S. Solutions Partners organizations into a single entity. Xerox said the restructuring is expected to provide a more holistic approach to business decisions that impact its channel partners.

The USCG is expected to allow Xerox to grow the company’s business through indirect channels, while investing in infrastructure, tools, training, programs and people, according to Schmelz.

“This is being done so partners can expand their sources of profitable revenue by connecting Xerox technologies and services to their unique solution to simplify how work gets done,” he said, in a statement.

Xerox will focus on bringing both of the previously separate sales organizations together as a single face to the partner community, according to CRN. The integration process is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter, after which time Xerox will focus on unifying its back-office operations and systems.

“My job is to make sure we’re executing on the strategy and we’re making the right decisions for our partners, for the business and right now in the short term it’s really leading the efforts to bring the two organizations as one,” Schmelz said in an interview with CRN.

Schmelz had been the president of Xerox’s United States Solutions Partners organization since joining the company in 2012. He also has nearly 20 years of executive experience at Electronics Systems and General Electric. He will continue to report directly to John Corley, president of Channel Partner Operations at Xerox.

Adaptive Insights this week announced it has tappedCitrix (CTXS) chairman Thomas F. Bogan as its CEO. He will be taking on the role to assist with the corporate performance management (CPM) and business intelligence (BI) company’s next phase of expansion and innovation.

A company spokeperson said the Palo Alto, California-based cloud solutions provider appointed Bogan because of his 25 years of leadership experience. He has been serving as Citrix’s chairman since January 2003. Bogan has also held several leadership positions with cloud software companies such as Rally Software (RALY), Apptio, and Acquia. Bogan served as a partner of venture capital firm Greylock Partners, where he was also CFO. Bogan was also president and COO of Rational Software before it was acquired by IBM.

The spokesperson said Bogan has plans to meet with as many customers as possible to understand their needs, with the hopes of using that information to innovate Adaptive Insights’ portfolio. He also expects to learn how organizations are using his company’s platform.

“He will also spend time with the team and the partners, with his main priorities in the areas of growth, along with how organizations can transform, with a focus on finance,” the spokesperson said. “He feels that 2,500 customers is a great resource base to pull from.”

Bogan, who, according to the spokesperson, is an avid supportor of the channel, will also sit down with Adaptive’s partners and channel organization to “continue to build a strong network of high value partners both in North America and internationally.”

“By hiring a former CFO, and veteran leader of Tom’s caliber, we are fortunate to have a CEO who intuitively understands our customers, appreciates the value of a partner ecosystem, and is known for developing great employee teams,” said Rob Hull, founder and chairman of Adaptive Insights, who, along with president Keith Nealon and an experienced executive team, has been leading the company since July 2014, which is when John Herr, Adaptive’s former CEO, stepped down from his post.

ExtraHop, a Seattle, WA-based provider of appliances to analyze wire data, has named Leonard Iventosch, a former EMC(EMC) Americas channel chief, as its new Global Channels vice president, the company’s second top brass hire in less than a month.

Iventosch, a 25-year IT industry veteran whose background also includes stints at Isilon (ISLN) and NetApp (NTAP), is tasked with overseeing ExtraHop’s channel sales team and driving initiatives to expand its partner base in North America and worldwide.

 

His hiring follows by less than a month that of John Matthews, a 20-year industry veteran whose IT operations experience spans Adobe (ADB), F5 Networks (FFIV) and Microsoft (MSFT), as ExtraHop’s new chief information officer (CIO).

ExtraHop sales vice president Eric Scollard, to whom Iventosch reports, said the new channels boss will strengthen the vendor’s strategy to grow through its partner network.

“Over the past few years we’ve built a presence in the channel with a strong and growingnetwork of partners in the U.S. and abroad, but we’ve reached a point in our growth where we need increased channel leverage to achieve our aggressive growth objectives,” said Scollard.

“Having Leonard as part of my leadership team gives ExtraHop a big advantage as we scale up our channel operations,” he said. “The depth of his experience and the respect he has earned in the channel are unparalleled.”

Prior to joining ExtraHop, Iventosch served as EMC Americas Channels vice president from 2011 – 2013, presiding over the unit’s 20 percent compounded annual channel sales growth. He had an earlier two-year run as Isilon’s Global Channels vice president prior to its acquisition by EMC, where he is credited with building a network of top-tier resellers. Iventosch’s longest tenure has been at NetApp as the cloud storage vendor’s channels vice president for eight years.

“Having worked for some of the world’s largest tech companies building channel programs, I’ve seen firsthand what it takes for these organizations to thrive,” said Iventosch. “I see those elements at ExtraHop–smart, driven people; a highly disruptive product that solves meaningful problems; and a laser focus on helping both customers and partners succeed. I’m eager to be a part of this company, building a strong partner ecosystem around a technology that is transforming IT and business operations.”

Wire data is the information that passes over IT and telecom networks, not to be confused with machine data. ExtraHop lists Morgan Stanley, Lockheed Martin, Concur, Purdue Pharma, and McKesson among clients for its wire data analytics platform. The company was founded in 2007 by Jesse Rothstein and Raja Mukerji, engineering veterans from F5 Networks.