ShoreTel Names New CEO

ShoreTel Monday announced the appointment of Peter Blackmore as its new president and CEO. Blackmore replaces interim CEO Don Girskis, who resumes his previous position as senior vice president of worldwide sales.

"ShoreTel has a solid reputation for industry-leading solutions and world-class customer satisfaction, and I am thrilled to be joining the company," said Blackmore in a statement. "I look forward to working with the entire ShoreTel team to help the company continue to accelerate its growth and achieve its tremendous potential."

Blackmore most recently was president, CEO and a director at UTStarcom. Before that, he was an executive vice president in charge of worldwide sales, marketing and technology at integrator giant Unisys. Blackmore also held several senior management positions at Compaq, and then, following its acquisition by HP, served as executive vice president of HP's Enterprise Systems Group, then its Customer Solutions Group, before being let go in a management shakeup by the tech giant in 2004.

Blackmore's appointment ends the CEO search ShoreTel launched in July. It was at that time when John W. Combs, ShoreTel's CEO since 2004, said he would step down, part of a transition plan the company told CRN had been in place for some time.

"Peter brings a wealth of hardware, software, services and channel expertise to ShoreTel," said Gary Daichendt, chairman of ShoreTel's board, in a statement. "His track record of successfully scaling technology organizations worldwide makes him the right leader to accelerate ShoreTel's growth."

Blackmore's arrival coincides with a period of big transition for ShoreTel. The company has continued to post substantial quarterly earnings growth and fine-tune its UC platform and its channel program. In late October, ShoreTel acquired Agito Networks for about $11.4 million, dramatically upping its stake in the mobility space.