30 Notable IT Executive Moves: February 2024
Snowflake, Syncro, Bridgenext, New Charter Technologies, Nvidia, Data Center Warehouse and Google were among the tech companies making key executive hires and moves during February 2024.
New CEOs of Snowflake, Syncro, Bridgenext and New Charter Technologies are just some of the biggest executive moves last month.
Those new CEOs are Sridhar Ramaswamy, previously Snowflake’s senior vice president of artificial intelligence (AI); Michael George, formerly CEO of Invicti; John Castleman, previously an Emtec board of directors member; and Peter Melby, formerly New Charter’s chief revenue officers.
[RELATED: 30 Notable IT Executive Moves: January 2023]
February Tech Exec Moves
Nvidia, Data Center Warehouse and Google were among the other tech giants to make executive moves during the month as companies invest in resources for sales, technology and partners.
Those executives were:
- Karen Chen, formerly with Salesforce
- Maya Parris, formerly with F5
- Gail Giacobbe, formerly with Microsoft
All the hiring comes despite multiple tech giants cutting their employee rosters. Inflation in the United States remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. But multiple vendors and solution providers are looking to AI and other technology advancements as potential sparks for business IT spending.
Read on for more of the 30 notable IT executive moves from February 2024.
Sridhar Ramaswamy
Snowflake named a new CEO in February – Sridhar Ramaswamy. Previous CEO Frank Slootman retired.
The Bozeman, Mont.-based data cloud vendor promoted Ramaswamy from the role of senior vice president of AI, according to a company statement. He joined Snowflake in 2023 with the acquisition of Neeva, which Ramaswamy co-founded in 2019.
His resume includes about 16 years with Google, leaving the vendor in 2018 with the title of SVP of ads and commerce, according to his LinkedIn account.
Snowflake is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Michael George
Michael George became CEO of Syncro in February, succeeding former CEO Emily Glass.
George came to the Seattle-based remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools vendor after about two years as CEO of Invicti, according to his LinkedIn account.
Syncro has a base of more than 4,000 MSP partners, according to the vendor.
John Castleman
In February, John Castleman became CEO of Bridgenext, a company formed from the combined operations of Emtec, Wave6 and Definition 6.
Before taking on the top job at Jacksonville, Fla.-based Bridgenext, Castleman was a member of the board of directors for Emtec, No. 176 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about five years as CEO of Mobiquity.
Gail Giacobbe
In February, Gail Giacobbe joined Google as vice president of product management.
Giacobbe came to the Mountain View, Calif.-based cloud vendor after about five years with Microsoft, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Microsoft with the title of vice president of product for the Office Products Group.
Google is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Peter Melby
New Charter Technologies promoted Peter Melby to CEO in February. His predecessor, Mitch Morgan, became executive chairman of the board.
Melby previously served as chief revenue officer of the Denver-based company – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – for about two years, according to his LinkedIn account.
He joined New Charter when it bought Greystone Technology, an MSP he founded in 2001.
Karen Chen
Karen Chen joined Nvidia in February as vice president of global cloud sales and go-to-market (GTM) cloud service providers (CSP).
Chen came to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker from Salesforce, according to her LinkedIn account. She worked at Salesforce for about 12 years, leaving the company with the title of senior vice president of sales.
Nvidia has about 1,600 channel partners worldwide and about 350 in North America, accordingto CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Rich Falcone
With the $3.7 billion acquisition of CDI by Ahead, former CDI CEO and President Rich Falcone becomes president of Ahead, reporting to Ahead founder and CEO Daniel Adamany.
Falcone joined Chicago-based Ahead – No. 32 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 – after serving as CDI’s CEO and president for more than two years, according to his LinkedIn account.
Before the acquisition, Falcone worked at CDI for more than 22 years. He started at CDI in 2001 as an account manager.
Shannon Cross
Shannon Cross joined Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) as chief strategy officer in February.
Cross came to the Houston-based tech giant after more than a year with Credit Suisse, according to her LinkedIn account. She left after the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS with the title of managing director.
HPE is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Stephanie Chiarella
Stephanie Chiarella joined Involta in February, taking on the role of senior vice president of financial planning and analysis.
Chiarella came to the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – after more than three years with Snip Internet. She left Snip with the title of consultant.
Her resume includes about five years with Everstream Solutions. She left the company in 2020 with the title of VP of finance.
Maya Parris
Data Center Warehouse hired a new chief people officer in February – Maya Parris.
Parris came to the Laguna Hills, Calif.-based company – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – after about six years with F5, according to her LinkedIn account. She left F5 with the title of senior national partner manager.
Her resume includes more than two years with A10 Networks. She left the company with the title of channel director.
Jayney Howson
In February, Jayney Howson joined ServiceNow, taking on the role of senior vice president and global head of learning enablement.
Howson came to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based digital workflows tools vendor after about six years with Salesforce, according to her LinkedIn account.
ServiceNow has about 2,200 channel partners worldwide, according to CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Sarah Peace
Dell Technologies named a new vice president of cybersecurity governance, risk and compliance in February – Sarah Peace.
Peace came to the Round Rock, Texas-based computer hardware and infrastructure vendor after about 12 years with Walmart, according to her LinkedIn account. She left Walmart with the title of senior cybersecurity director for global tech audit engagement, a position that made her a “centralized liaison point for Walmart Global Technology and Internal Audit.”
Dell is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Michael Srihari
Michael Srihari became corporate vice president of chief information security officer (CISO) operations at Microsoft in February.
Srihari joined the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant after about 18 years with Bridgewater Associates, according to his LinkedIn account. He left the company with the title of deputy chief technology officer.
Microsoft is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs and has about 400,000 partners worldwide, according to the vendor.
Dali Rajic
In February, Wiz hired Dali Rajic as president and chief operating officer.
Rajic joined the New York-based security vendor after more than four years with Zscaler, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Zscaler with the COO title.
Wiz has about 190 channel partners worldwide and about 150 in North America, according to CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Daniel Danielli
Daniel Danielli joined CrowdStrike in February, taking on the role of vice president of global distribution.
Danielli came to the Austin, Texas-based security vendor after more than a year with Evotek, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Evotek with the title of VP of business development.
His resume includes more than seven years with Arrow Electronics. He left the distributor in 2022 with the title of partner sales director.
CrowdStrike is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Kevin Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy returned to Cisco in February, taking on the role of vice president of security product marketing
Kennedy previously worked at Cisco for more than five years, leaving in 2012 as director of security product management, according to his LinkedIn account. In this role, he “led the $400M+ portfolio of email and web security products to the #1 market share position in the content security market.”
Before returning to Cisco, Kennedy worked for more than eight years at Vectra AI, according to his LinkedIn. He left Vectra with the title of senior vice president of products.
About 90 percent of overall Cisco sales come through indirect channel and alliance relationships, according to CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Justin Hotard
Intel hired Justin Hotard as executive vice president and general manager of data center and artificial intelligence.
Hotard came to the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chipmaker after more than eight years with Hewlett Packard Enterprise, according to his LinkedIn account. He left HPE with the title of EVP and GM of the high performance computing and AI business group and Hewlett Packard Labs.
Intel is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Albert Caravelli
In February, Albert Caravelli became senior vice president of strategic alliances and partners at Talkdesk.
Caravelli joined the San Francisco-based contact center cloud vendor after about nine years with Zscaler, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Zscaler with the title of global vice president of strategic alliances and advisory firms.
His resume includes about five years on and off with Hewlett-Packard, which separated into HP and Hewlett Packard Enterprise in 2015. Caravelli left that year with the title of senior director of worldwide global alliances for software.
Steve Long
Lenovo hired Steve Long in February as its senior vice president of the Intelligent Devices Group (IDG) commercial segment.
Long joined the China-based computer maker after about 24 years with Intel, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Intel with the title of corporate vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).
Lenovo is a member of CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Chethan Chandra
Chethan Chandra became a vice president of marketing strategy for operations and analytics at Zscaler in February.
Chandra joined the San Jose, Calif.-based security vendor after about five years with Twilio, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Twilio with the title of senior director of marketing strategy and analytics.
Zscaler has about 3,600 worldwide channel partners and 1,200 in North America, according to CRN’s 2024 Channel Chiefs.
Greg Davis
In February, Greg Davis became a vice president at General Dynamics Information Technology, focused on health, technology and life science.
David joined Falls Church, Va.-based GDIT – No. 13 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after more than a year with Booz Allen Hamilton, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Booz Allen Hamilton with the title of executive advisor of health and human services and life science.
His resume includes about two years with Emagine IT. He left the company in 2022 with the title of chief growth officer.
Andi Baritchi
Kyndryl hired Andi Baritchi in February as vice president of cybersecurity, according to a LinkedIn post.
Baritchi came to the New York-based company – No. 8 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after about two years as head of security assurance at Amazon, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about five years as a director at KPMG.
Ryan Troy
Ryan Troy came to Trace3 in February, taking on the role of vice president of engineering for East majors.
Troy joined the Irvine, Calif.-based company – No. 36 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after more than three years with Cohesity, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Cohesity with the title of senior pre-sales system engineering manager.
His resume includes about a year with Dell EMC. Troy left the company in 2020 with the title of senior pre-sales system engineering manager for Columbus, Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania.
Douglas Eckrote
Zones recruited Douglas Eckrote in February as senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Eckrote came to the Auburn, Wash.-based company – No. 29 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after about two years as a senior adviser to Uline, according to his LinkedIn account.
His resume includes about 23 years with CDW. He left the company in 2022 with the title of SVP of small business sales and business transformation.
Jacob Smith
Jacob Smith joined The Judge Group in February, taking on the role of vice president of enterprise accounts.
Smith came to the Wayne, Pa.-based company – No. 66 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after more than two years with Experis, according to his LinkedIn account. He elft Experis with the title of senior business development manager.
His resume includes about two years with Apex Systems. He left Apex in 2021 with the title of account manager.
Kathy Carlin
In February, Kathy Carlin became vice president of special programs at GuidePoint Security.
Carlin joined the company – No. 52 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after about 10 years as strategic account manager and account manager with Google, Mandiant and FireEye, according to her LinkedIn account.
In 2013, FireEye bought Mandiant for $1 billion and sold it to Symphony Technology Group (STG) in 2021 for $1.2 billion. Google bought Mandiant in 2022 for $5.4 billion.
Rich Zabel
Diversified hired Rich Zabel as vice president of media supply chain in February.
Zabel came to the Kenilworth, N.J.-based company – No. 48 on CRN’s 2023 Solution Provider 500 – after more than four years with Riedel Communications, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Reidel with the title of VP of sales for North America.
His resume includes about a year with Evertz. He left the company in 2019 with the title of director of sales for Northeast U.S. and strategic accounts.
Jim Piazza
In February, Ensono brought on a vice president of artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive systems – Jim Piazza.
Piazza joined the Downers Grove, Ill.-based company – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – after about a year with Penguin Solutions, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Penguin with the title of VP and global head of services.
His resume includes about eight years with Facebook. He left the company in 2023 with the title of operations director.
Eric Dowsland
CyFlare brought on Eric Dowsland as its new chief customer officer in February.
Dowsland joined the Rochester, N.Y.-based company – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – after more than three years with Cyderes, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Cyderes with the title of vice president of customer success. Cyderes was formed from the merger of Herjavec Group and Fishtech.
His resume includes more than a year with Paychex. He left the company in 2020 with the title of senior manager for the enterprise security fusion center.
Dominic Pierce
World Wide Technology recruited Dominic Pierce in February as vice president of global accounts for Europe.
Pierce joined the Maryland Heights, Mo.-based company – a member of CRN’s 2024 MSP 500 – after more than 16 years with Cisco, according to his LinkedIn account. He left Cisco with the title of managing director of the U.K. and Ireland partner organization.
He started at Cisco in 2007 as an account manager.