Juniper Networks Thursday confirmed that Microsoft veteran Kevin Johnson will take over as its new CEO when he joins the networking vendor in September. As part of his appointment, Johnson will also take a seat on Juniper's board of directors.
Current Juniper Chairman and CEO Scott Kriens will hold onto his chairman spot and remain active in strategy and leadership development, according to a statement from Juniper, Sunnyvale, Calif. Kriens has held Juniper's top executive spot since 1996.
Johnson most recently served as president of the Microsoft's Platform & Services Division. In that role, Johnson was responsible for product development, marketing and strategy for the Redmond, Wash-based vendor's Windows and Online Services business. He was also part of the team that led Microsoft's thus-far unsuccessful bid to purchase Yahoo.
Microsoft disclosed Johnson's departure Wednesday night. In the wake of Johnson's exit from Microsoft, the software-maker will split Johnson's Platforms & Services Division into two groups, one to be called Windows/Windows Live, and the other to be dubbed Online Services. Both groups will report directly to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
"The first 12 years at Juniper have been the most rewarding years of my professional life and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together," Kriens said in a statement. "We are very excited to welcome Kevin as our new CEO. He is a world-class executive, and a person whose values align exactly with the culture upon which Juniper has been built. I look forward to working closely with Kevin in the years to come as we continue to build on Juniper's success."
Johnson, who joined Microsoft in 1992 and has led the Platform & Services Division since 2005, shared similar excitement.
"I am delighted to join Juniper," he said in the statement. "Juniper is a company with a clear technology agenda, great talent and an amazing growth opportunity in a growing industry. I'm looking forward to bringing my experiences to help Juniper scale and deliver great value to Juniper's customers, partners, employees and shareholders."
