Veritas CEO Bill Coleman Steps Down, Former Symantec Exec Takes Over

Data Protection and data management software vendor Veritas on Monday said it had appointed former Serena Software executive Greg Hughes as its new CEO.

Effective immediately, Hughes (pictured, left), who will also join the Veritas board of directors, is taking over the reins from Bill Coleman, who is stepping down.

Coleman (pictured, right) is retaining his seat on the Veritas board of directors and is joining The Carlyle Group as an operating executive. The Carlyle Group is an investor in Veritas and was vital to making Veritas an independent company when it spun off from Symantec.

[Related: CRN Exclusive: Veritas CEO Bill Coleman Discusses Why His Company's Partnership With Microsoft Azure Is So Different]

Veritas was unable to respond to a request for more information by press time.

Veritas was acquired by security vendor Symantec for $13.5 billion in 2005. The companies split in 2015 when Symantec sold the Veritas business to a group of outside investors including the Carlyle Group, for $8 billion.

Hughes, according to his LinkedIn profile, was CEO of IT service management technology developer Serena Software until May 2016 when the company was acquired by Newbury, U.K.-based Micro Focus.

Hughes is no stranger to Veritas. He served as executive vice president of global services between 2003 and 2005, and after Symantec acquired Veritas served as Symantec's president of global services including the Veritas business and left the company in 2009 as chief strategy officer.

Coleman served as CEO of Veritas from the day it became independent of Symantec.

One long-term channel partner of Veritas told CRN on condition of anonymity that he welcomes a new CEO to take over the company.

"We need something fresh," the solution provider said. "And we need someone with a better pulse on what Veritas' employees are thinking."

The solution provider said that when Veritas became independent, it said it would act more like a startup than a long-term legacy software vendor.

"But it hasn't done so," the solution provider said. "There's still a lot of the old company there from before when it was a part of Symantec."

Veritas said the replacement of Coleman with Hughes was part of a "planned succession strategy."

"I believe that Greg is the ideal leader to transition Veritas to the next phase of its evolution. This planned succession ensures a seamless transition for the company and its customers, employees, and partners," Coleman said in a prepared statement.