30 Notable IT Executive Moves: July 2014

Start It Off

July was a particularly busy month for executive moves, especially for channel executives. From executives moving from solution provider to solution provider, to vendors picking up new channel chiefs, there was a lot of movement this month in the channel. Take a look back at 30 of the moves we saw this month.

Meg Whitman

Two days after former interim Chairman of the Hewlett-Packard board of directors Ralph Whitworth revealed plans to step down for health reasons, HP turned to CEO Meg Whitman to take the lead. The appointment comes three years after Whitman took the helm of the vendor, where she has since been credited with helping turn around ailing parts of the company. Partners cheered the appointment, saying it showed a vote of confidence in the company's leader and her vision.

Keith Norbie

Longtime storage VAR veteran Keith Norbie announced his move in the middle of the month to Boulder, Colo.-based SolidFire, which develops all-flash storage arrays and solutions. To his new role, Norbie brings a long history of channel experience, most recently as director of server, virtualization and storage for the Eastern U.S. at San Diego-based Technology Integration Group (TIG). Norbie also spent more than 13 years at SP500 powerhouse Nexus Information Systems prior to joining TIG. Norbie's newest role will have him managing strategic vendor relationships for SolidFire, including VMware, Citrix Systems, Red Hat, Microsoft, Dell and more.

Alan Mulally

After rumors swirled that Alan Mulally had been on the final list of candidates for Microsoft's CEO position, before the company chose Satya Nadella, the former Ford CEO has landed at Google. On July 9, Mulally announced he would be joining Google's board of directors, more specifically on the Audit Committee. Mulally retired as Ford's CEO on July 1.

"I am honored to serve on the board of a global iconic company that is dedicated to enhancing our lives," Mulally said in a statement. "I look forward to working together with the Google board and management team to continue to deliver their compelling vision."

John Murdock

After helping build out Juniper's inside sales team and the launch of the networking vendor's worldwide channel program, John Murdock has jumped to Kaspersky Lab as the company's newest channel sales chief for North America. As vice president of channel sales for Kaspersky, Murdock will help manage the company's channel program as well as continue to expand its rapidly growing North American reseller base. Murdock said that he hopes to continue to build on Kaspersky's "strong vision and a strong plan" in security as he moves over to the security vendor. Murdock fills the spot left vacant by Christopher Doggett's move to managing director of the security vendor's U.S. business operations after the departure of Stephen Orenburg in May.

Steve Tepedino

Tempe, Ariz.-based IT Partners, No. 424 on CRN's 2014 SP 500 list, named longtime channel veteran Steve Tepedino as the company's new president and CEO. The appointment consolidates the president and CEO roles under Tepedino, previously held by co-owners Gary Johnston and Willie Hawileh. Tepedino most recently comes from Somerset, N.J.-based Melillo Consulting, where he was president. Prior to that, Tepedino had experience starting his own VAR management consulting business Channel Savvy, as well as a more than 22-year tenure at Avnet.

"The mantra going forward is we want to be a better partner by scaling for vendors and offering more detailed solutions oriented for our customers," Tepedino said in a CRN interview. "We think that's a winning combination."

Jeff Hausman

After a new round of funding, CloudPhysics has hired former Symantec and Hewlett-Packard executive Jeff Hausman as the big data startup's new CEO. Hausman comes most recently from Symantec to replace current CEO and Co-Founder John Blumenthal, who will now be vice president of product management. The big data startup, which uses anonymized data to find problems in servers and network environments in a Software-as-as-Service model, most recently raised $15 million in Series C funding, bringing its total venture capital funding to $27.5 million.

Ralph Loura

Ralph Loura quietly stepped in to fill Hewlett-Packard's vacant Enterprise Business Group CIO role. Before announcing the move on his LinkedIn profile, Loura spent more than four years as CIO of Clorox. Starting in the new role on July 7, Loura replaces Tami Mallett, who will be taking a new role at the company. While the Enterprise Business Group is HP's second largest division, it has been struggling recently, last quarter reporting revenue down 2 percent to $6.7 billion. Partners said that the appointment brings a consumer-focused executive to the business side, which they said shows HP moving to better serve its business clients.

Brad Maltz

When EMC was looking for a candidate to fill its new position for senior director of converged infrastructure in the Office of the CTO, the storage vendor turned to one of its top channel partner executives. Brad Maltz, CTO at Dallas-based solution provider and longtime EMC channel partner Lumenate, announced he would be joining EMC to help the vendor build out long-term strategies around converged infrastructure.

"I love Lumenate to death," Maltz told CRN at the time. "But this is a chance to move upstream. The industry is changing, with new technologies like converged infrastructure, cloud and end-user experience. This is an opportunity to help the industry with a stronger impact."

John Kennedy

John Kennedy has moved from vice president of IBM's Global Business Unit to join Xerox as the company's vice president and chief marketing officer. Kennedy replaces Christa Carone, who joined Fidelity Investments last year.

"Xerox holds a unique place in the market as it transforms to a services-led, technology-driven company committed to helping clients focus on their core business," Kennedy said in a statement. "This is a great opportunity to be part of an iconic brand and build upon the company’s strategy to create effective and meaningful connections with customers."

Roger Krone

To kick off the month, Leidos, the product of a split of Solution Provider 500 powerhouse SAIC, announced a new CEO in Roger Krone. Former CEO John Jumper announced his plans for retirement in February after leading the company since March 2012. Krone comes most recently from The Boeing Co., where he was president of Network and Space Systems. Jumper will remain on as the company's chairman of the board of directors and assist Krone in the transition.

Tony Brooker

Logicalis, No. 26 on CRN's SP500 list, announced at the beginning of the month that it had tapped Tony Brooker as its newest UK Sales Director. In his new role, Brooker will oversee the company's sales and marketing efforts in the region, as well as lead the company's existing sales team and build out a high-performance inside sales team. Brooker comes most recently from solution provider powerhouse Insight, where he was vice president of sales for the EMEA region. Brooker also holds experience from SCC and MicroWarehouse.

Paul Daugherty, Bhaskar Ghosh

Accenture named both CTO Paul Daugherty and Group Chief Executive for Technology Delivery Bhaskar Ghosh to the solution provider's Global Management Committee, the top decision-making body at the company.

’I am delighted to welcome Paul and Bhaskar, two of our most accomplished technology executives, to our Global Management Committee. I am confident that with their continued leadership, as well as their extensive knowledge of new and emerging technologies and our business, we will continue to drive innovation for our clients and enhance Accenture’s leadership position in the marketplace," Accenture chairman and CEO Pierre Nanterme said in a statement.

Nikesh Arora

In time with its second quarter earnings, Google announced that its longtime chief business officer was departing after more than a decade with the company. Nikesh Arora will leave Google's top sales executive position to join Japan-based SoftBank as the company's CEO of Internet and Media operations and vice chairman of the whole company. Omid Kordestani will replace Arora in the interim. Arora was reportedly the company's top paid executive and helped lead its Europe operations before taking his most recent position at Google five years ago.

Frances West

In a brand-new role for Big Blue, Frances West was named IBM's first Chief Accessibility Officer. The new role is designed to guide IBM on accessibility policies and practices, the company said, as well as collaborating with government, businesses and other groups on accessibility matters. West brings extensive experience in the accessibility field, serving on the board of directors of the American Association of People with Disabilities, Assistive Technology Industry Association, U.S. Business Leadership Networks, World Institute on Disability, and many more.

"We believe that technology can bridge individual differences, enable a diverse pool of talent in the workplace and improve lives. We are at a crossroads where we can begin to personalize every experience and integrate technology in ways that will be very powerful," West said in a statement.

Tony Scott

VMware Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Tony Scott joined the board of advisors at Boston-based Continuum, the company announced this month. Prior to his current position, Scott brings senior-level experience from Microsoft, Walt Disney and General Motors Corp.

"We are very fortunate to have the leadership caliber of Tony on our Board of Advisors, as he understands the enormous potential in both the Continuum service-delivery model as well as the increasing managed IT services market," Michael George, CEO at Continuum, said in a statement. "His expertise will help Continuum expand its managed IT services provider business to the IT services industry, as well as support our resellers and partners in expanding their businesses."

Jude Buckley

Coinciding with the close of its Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft announced Jude Buckley as corporate vice president of its Consumer Channels Group. Buckley comes to Microsoft by way of Best Buy, where he was most recently Chief Commercial Officer, a position from which he resigned in May. In his new job, Buckley will be in charge of developing sales and marketing activities with OEMs, retailers and other partners.

Ramzi Haidamus

At the end of the month, Finland-based Nokia announced that Ramzi Haidamus would be taking over as president of the company's technologies business and added as a member of the Global Leadership team. To his new role, Haidamus brings extensive experience from Dolby Laboratories, where he spent more than 17 years, with roles that put him at the forefront of launching new technologies, building out technical standards and growing the business. Haidamus will start in the position on Sept. 3.

Kimberly Admire

Kimberly Admire joined Mclean, Va.-based solution provider SAIC as the company's chief human resources officer on July 21. In her new role, Admire will lead the company's employee initiatives, organizational culture development, compensation and benefits plans, workforce management and employee engagement, among other things, the company said. Admire brings experience to the role most recently from 16 years at Lockheed Martin, where she was vice president of Culture, Diversity and Equal Opportunity Programs.

Patrick Stokes

On July 22, Tech Data announced it has named Patrick Stokes as the company's new vice president of Tech Data Mobile Solutions. In his new role, Stokes will help lead the strategic direction of the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor's mobile group, including product and partner engagement. Stokes brings more than 24 years of experience in the telecom industry to his new role, most recently as president and CEO of Sage Brothers Holdings, with experience also at Brightstar, Verizon and Sprint.

Maurice Hamilton

In its second executive appointment of the quarter, Tech Data announced that it had added Maurice Hamilton as vice president of technical services in the company's Advanced Infrastructure Solutions division. Hamilton will be charged with leading the strategic direction for the Clearwater, Fla.-based distributor's presales support and systems engineering. Hamilton has extensive experience with the channel, spending the last 25 years of his career with CDW and PCM. He most recently served as associate vice president of Advanced Pre-sales Support and Solutions at PCM.

Mark Interrante

While the company is reportedly looking for buyers, Mark Interrante jumped ship from Rackspace to Hewlett-Packard as the company's senior vice president of engineering in the cloud business unit, according to a Re/code report. In his new role, Interrante will run the team in charge of research and development. Before joining HP, Interrante was senior vice president of product and engineering at Rackspace. The appointment comes as rumors swirled around a possible HP bid for the sale of Rackspace, which HP denied.

Geoff Thomas

Polycom has turned to former Juniper executive Geoff Thomas for its new president of its Asia Pacific region. Thomas brings experience most recently as Juniper's vice president of enterprise sales in the Asia Pacific region, but also has spent time at Microsoft. He has experience working in many geographies, including Asia Pacific, Australia, the U.S. and China. In his new role, Thomas will be in charge of regional sales, strategy, brand, profitability and customer success.

Ashish Mahadwar

CSC, No. 4 on CRN's 2014 SP500 list, announced in July 8 that the company had named Ashish Mahadwar as executive vice president and general manager, Strategic Business. Mahadwar comes most recently from Cognizant, No. 10 on the SP500 list, where he was senior vice president and global head of Strategic Partnerships. In his new role, Mahadwar will be charged with building a strategy for growth behind big data, cloud computing and cybersecurity. In addition to more than 11 years at Cognizant, Mahadwar also brings experience from Planetasia.com, Microland, and an HCL and HP venture.

Bill Cordero

Newark, Calif.-based Tegile has tapped Bill Cordero for its newest channel chief role. Cordero will serve as vice president of worldwide channels for the company, which produces flash-driven storage arrays for databases and virtualized environments. In his new role, Cordero will be responsible for building out the company's channel program, especially focusing on a global expansion. Cordero is no stranger to the channel, with more than 20 years of experience, most recently from StorSimple, where he was vice president of worldwide channels and strategic sales. He also has held channel roles at Storwize, Data Domain, McDATA, VA Linux Systems and NetScreen Technologies.

Daniel Ford

SGP Technologies SA, the joint venture behind security- and privacy-first mobile device company Blackphone, has appointed Daniel Ford as the company's chief security officer. In his new role, Ford will work to make sure that Blackphone's platform stays up to date with current security threats. Ford has an extensive security background with more than 15 years working with all types of security issues, including mobility, federal and information.

Kerry Barrett

Chicago-based Accretive Solutions appointed Kerry Barrett as president of the solution provider. CEO Rich Moran has resigned from the company to take a position as president of Menlo College, but will remain on the company's board of directors as vice chairman. Barrett has been with Accretive since 2012, most recently as senior vice president, Sales and Operations. Barrett also brings experience from Deloitte, Hudson Financial Solutions and Parson Group.

S tephen Pawlowski

Advanced semiconductor systems company Micron Technology named Stephen Pawlowski as the Boise, Idaho-based company's vice president of Advanced Computer Solutions. Pawlowski joins the company after more than 31 years at Intel, where he helped develop the initial PC and server platforms, as well as standards and additional architectures. In his new role at Micron, Pawlowski will help the company develop its value-add memory solutions.

"As Micron continues to invest in value-added, system-level solutions, it is increasingly important for us to understand the future architecture of systems and how memory can ultimately drive innovation and performance. We look forward to Steve's contributions in supporting this initiative," Micron President Mark Adams said in a statement.

Wilson Grava

In time with the company's announcement of its establishment of Latin American operations, Pure Storage announced it had brought on former NetApp executive Wilson Grava to lead the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's push into the region, starting with Brazil and Mexico. More specifically, Grava will be vice president of LATAM regions at Pure Storage, where he will help forge strategic channel relationships. Grava has more than 30 years of experience in the storage industry, most recently as vice president and general manager, Latin America & the Caribbean at NetApp. He also has worked at Symantec, McAfee and CA Technologies.

Brad Center

Brad Center, former SAIC and Deloitte executive, has moved on to HighPoint Global, a management solutions firm that is one of the top providers of constituent services to the federal government. In his new role, Center will help the Reston, Va.-based company continue growing its government and commercial accounts.

"I am excited to start a new challenge within HighPoint and look forward to working with the team to further develop their product and service suite. I am fortunate to be joining such an innovative and agile company that prides itself on top quality service," Center said in a statement at the time.

John Schwan

Former VMware executive John Schwan has been announced as the new channel chief for Tintri, a smart storage provider for virtualization and cloud environments, where he will help expand the Mountain View, Calif.-based company's channel sales in North America. Schwan's official title at Tintri will be vice president, North American channel sales. At VMware, Schwan most recently was senior director North American Solution Providers, and helped drive sales and engagement with top partners.