PowerMoves, a business leadership information report, is a valuable source for staying informed about changes at competitor, partner or customer organizations. Its focus is on publicly traded technology companies headquartered in the Silicon Valley. The report is published by TowerHunter executive search. For any comments or inquiries contact Simon Bloch, Partner at [email protected] or (650) 937-9150.
Executive Appointments
Altera Names Bradley Howe to SVP of R&D
Altera announced the appointment of Bradley Howe to senior vice president, research and development. In this role, Mr. Howe is responsible for all development of Altera’s silicon products, intellectual property (IP) libraries, and software products, as well as overseeing the company’s global research and development organization. Previously, Howe served as Altera’s vice president, IC design. He reports to John Daane, Altera’s president, CEO and chairman of the board. Prior to joining Altera, Howe held a number of executive positions at C-Cube Microsystems, Clearwater Networks, and SandCraft. He has over 28 years of engineering experience, including positions at Bytex, Prime Computer, and Olivetti Research.
AMD Appoints Darrell Ford as Chief Human Resource Officer
AMD announced that Darrell Ford, 47, will join the company as senior vice president and chief human resources officer. He will report to President and Chief Executive Officer Rory Read. Ford, who was most recently vice president, Human Resources – Retail for Shell Oil, will be responsible for leading all areas of the company’s human resources function. Mr. Ford spent four years at Shell Oil, where he led a global team focusing on organizational effectiveness, talent management, learning and development, performance and change. Prior to his tenure at Shell, he spent six years at Honeywell International where he was responsible for global centers of excellence in organizational effectiveness, learning, leadership development, talent management, diversity and performance management.
Cypress Appoints Cathal Phelan as EVP of the Consumer and Computation Division
Cypress Semiconductor announced replacement of Norm Taffe by 26-year industry veteran, Cathal Phelan, who is currently Cypress’s Chief Technical Officer. Oliveira is an executive with more than 25 years of experience in R&D management and technology strategy for very-large-scale systems-on-chip, including both chip design and software development. He has worked for NXP Semiconductors and Philips Semiconductors in the U.S. and The Netherlands. Oliveira joined Cypress in 2007 as Senior Vice President and CTO of Cypress’s memory and data communications divisions. In late 2008, his role was expanded to include all divisions. Oliveira has worked with the divisions on the definition of their technical strategies and products such as Cypress’s EZ-USB® FX3™ USB 3.0 controllers, TrueTouch® controllers, next-generation Quad Data Rate and PSoC programmable system-on-chip products.
eBay Names David Marcus as President of Paypal
eBay announced that it had named PayPal executive David Marcus as President of PayPal. John Donahoe, eBay’s President and Chief Executive Officer, has been serving as President of PayPal on an interim basis since Scott Thompson stepped down from the position in January 2012. Mr. Marcus, 38, previously served PayPal as Vice President and General Manager of Mobile from August 2011. Prior to joining PayPal, Mr. Marcus was the founder of Zong, a leading provider of payment services through mobile carrier billing, and served as its Chief Executive Officer from April 2008 to August 2011. Prior to Zong, Mr. Marcus was the founder of Echovox, a mobile media monetization company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2000 to 2008. Prior to Echovox, Mr. Marcus was the founder of GTN Telecom, an alternative telecom business, from 1996 to 2000. eBay and Mr. Marcus have entered into an agreement executed on March 30, 2012. Under the terms of the agreement, Mr. Marcus will be paid an annual base salary of $620,000 and will be eligible to participate in the Incentive Plan, with a target annual bonus of 100% of his base salary.
Extreme Networks Appoints Theresa Caragol as Vice President of Global Channels
Extreme Networks announced the appointment of Theresa Caragol as vice president, worldwide channels. Caragol brings a 17-year track record of building channel and distribution organizations in the networking industry stemming from her previous roles with IBM, Nortel, Bay Networks and most recently, Ciena, where she was VP of channels and alliances for 7 years. At Ciena, Caragol exceeded her sales quota the last five years by establishing a strong and diverse partner ecosystem, an industry-recognized channel program, a world-class team of channel talent, and an aggressive partner base. In recognition of her success, Caragol was selected the last two years as one of the Top 100 Channel Executives in the IT Industry, as one of the Top 10 Next Generation Channel Leaders, and one of the Top 100 Women in the Channel by CRN Magazine. Caragol is charged with overseeing strategy and successful execution for Extreme Networks worldwide channels encompassing a base of more than 700 partners throughout more than 50 countries.
HP appoints John Schultz as EVP and General Counsel
Hewlett-Packard promoted John Schultz to executive vice president and general counsel. Schultz, who joined the company in 2008, is expected to become a member of HP’s executive council, reporting to CEO Meg Whitman. He was previously the company’s vice president and deputy general counsel in charge of litigation. In his new position succeeding David Healy, he will be in charge of global legal and compliance functions. Former general counsel Michael Holston, who had joined in 2007 under then CEO Mark Hurd, departed in December to pursue other opportunities. The company named David Healy, a partner at Fenwick & West LLP, to serve as interim general counsel after Holston left. Healy has served as interim general counsel since December 2011.
Infoblox Appoints David Gee as EVP of Marketing
Infoblox announced that David Gee has joined Infoblox as the Executive Vice President of Marketing. He will be responsible for all Corporate and Product Marketing functions and reports to Infoblox CEO and President Robert Thomas. Gee brings to Infoblox over 20 years of experience marketing innovative products, solutions and services to the enterprise computing and mobile markets. Most recently, Gee spent 9 years running global marketing teams at Hewlett Packard (HP). At HP, Gee served as Vice President of Marketing across multiple businesses and was instrumental in a number of strategic initiatives, including the development and growth of the company’s enterprise software business and the acquisition of EDS in 2008. Prior to HP, Gee held senior marketing positions at Yahoo! Inc., Sun Microsystems and IBM Corporation.
Micrel Promotes Rami Kanama to VP of Clock and Timing Products
Micrel announced that High Bandwidth Marketing Director, Rami Kanama, has been promoted to the position of Vice President of Clock and Timing Products. Mr. Kanama will also serve as the president of the recently acquired PhaseLink Company Ltd, now a Micrel subsidiary. His promotion makes him a member of Micrel’s executive staff. Mr. Kanama will continue to oversee the marketing and business development of the High Bandwidth which include high-speed communications with fiber optic and data management products. Mr. Kanama has more than 18 years in high tech management experience. He has served as Micrel’s Director of High Bandwidth Marketing since 2008 with responsibility for the business unit’s business development, and strategic and product marketing. Mr. Kanama was responsible for licensing key clock technologies and for the launch of the new Clockworks™ product line, ultra-high performance configurable clock synthesizers. Prior to joining Micrel, Mr. Kanama was the Vice President, Marketing and Sales at Redfern Integrated Optics, Inc. Prior to Redfern, Mr. Kanama held various marketing and business development management roles at Infineon Technologies and Tyco Electronics (previously AMP, Inc.).
Micrel Promotes Wiren Perera to VP, Corporate Strategic Marketing
Micrel announced that Wiren Perera has been promoted to Vice President of Corporate Strategic Marketing. Dr. Perera will focus on leveraging Micrel’s unique complement of networking, communications and power management capabilities to drive the next stage of the company’s growth. Additionally, he will continue to manage marketing and business development for the Ethernet business, comprised of a growing portfolio of LAN Solutions. Dr. Perera has more than 20 years of experience successfully managing technology businesses in a broad set of segments that include networking, communications and multimedia. His experience prior to coming to Micrel includes managing the $300 million optical components and modules business at JDSU, spearheading the $200 million data communications business at PMC-Sierra and establishing the MIPS RISC processor business at NEC. His background also includes being a founding business executive at Stream Machine, a pioneer in digital living room solutions later acquired by Cirrus Logic. He also managed the business operations for Mysticom, a leader in data center connectivity acquired by Transwitch. In addition, Dr. Perera was the founder and principal of a firm providing strategic and business direction for technology companies.
RAE Systems names Chris Toney as COO
RAE Systems announced it has hired Chris Toney as its new COO. Toney brings more than 30 years of progressive leadership experience in the chemical industry, all of which were spent at Hewlett Packard and its spin-off, Agilent Technologies. Prior to assuming his current role at RAE Systems, Mr. Toney led the Gas Phase Division of the Chemical Analysis Solutions business at Agilent, which was broadly recognized as the clear market leader in Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry in the Environmental, Energy, Forensics, Food Safety and Life Science segments. Mr. Toney’s experience and responsibility garnered during his career spans across several functional areas including R&D, product line management, operations and supply chain. During his time at Agilent, Mr. Toney also held the position of Vice President and General Manager of the Gas Phase Mass Spectrometry business, where he led Agilent’s significant portfolio expansion and sales growth over a five-year period. Due to his demonstrated success and leadership, he was given responsibility for the Gas Phase Division and was also charged with overseeing many supply chain functions for the Chemical Analysis and Life Science businesses
Riverbed Appoints David Greene as Chief Marketing Officer
Riverbed Technology announced that David Greene joined the company as chief marketing officer to lead the global marketing organization. Greene brings more than 20 years of executive and hands-on experience in all facets of technology marketing. In his capacity as CMO, Greene will drive the go-to-market strategy for the growing Riverbed® product portfolio and support Riverbed’s goal to drive revenue growth with an enhanced focus on customer engagement, strategic alliances and brand development. Prior to joining Riverbed, Greene served as vice president of worldwide marketing for BMC Software’s $2B portfolio of IT management software businesses. Prior to BMC, he held a number of executive marketing positions at Active Reasoning, a pioneer in data center automation, Exodus Communications, HiFive.net, and Hewlett-Packard.
Shutterfly Appoints John Boris as SVP/CMO and Peter Elarde as SVP of New Business Initiatives
Shutterfly announced that it has appointed John Boris as senior vice president and chief marketing officer and that Peter Elarde has been named senior vice president, new business initiatives. Boris and Elarde will report to Shutterfly’s president and chief executive officer, Jeffrey Housenbold. Their appointments are part of a broader evolution of the company’s organizational structure that reflects its multi-brand strategy.
As Shutterfly’s chief marketing officer, Boris is responsible for all facets of the company’s marketing efforts, including customer acquisition and retention, business development, brand marketing, creative services and corporate communications. Boris brings more than 15 years of business, marketing and strategy planning experience to Shutterfly. He has held leadership roles at Zagat Survey, FLOWERS.com and Fresh Direct. Most recently, he was executive vice president and managing director of Lonely Planet Americas, where he oversaw all aspects of the company’s business in the Americas including retail sales, B2B, marketing and public relations, business development, online, mobile, logistics and back-office.
In his new role as senior vice president, new business initiatives, Peter Elarde is responsible for evaluating, incubating, and developing new growth initiatives for the company, including the new Treat™ greeting card business. Elarde, who joined Shutterfly in 2001, has held several roles at the company. Before serving as chief marketing officer he was vice president of the services business and vice president of product marketing. As chief marketing officer, Elarde helped expand Shutterfly’s online marketing, direct mail, and social media channels and extend its leadership in personal publishing with the introduction of simple path and custom path Photo Books. He also managed the successful integration of Tiny Prints and Wedding Paper Divas’ marketing activities to create a multi-brand marketing organization.
Splunk selects Guido Schroeder as Senior Vice President of Products
Splunk announced that Guido Schroeder has joined the company as senior vice president of products. Schroeder will report to Chairman and CEO Godfrey Sullivan. Schroeder comes to Splunk with more than 20 years of enterprise software and Business Intelligence experience, including 16 years with SAP where he was most recently senior vice president of development, heading the company’s Business Intelligence platform development and product management function. In that role, he managed large development teams distributed in the U.S., Canada, China, India, Israel, France and Germany. While at SAP, Schroeder held positions directing products and technologies, and was a key contributor in developing the company’s Business Intelligence and analytics products. Beyond Big Data analytics Schroeder is also passionate about user experience and metadata driven architectures. In 2004, he was credited as one of the inventors on the patent awarded to SAP Labs for “Meta Object Facility Compliant Interface Enabling.”
Symantec Appoints Andrew Del Matto as SVP and Chief Accounting Officer
Symantec announced the appointment of Andrew Del Matto as its new Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Del Matto, 53 years old, had served as the Company’s Corporate Treasurer and Vice President of Finance Business Operations since September 2009. During his seven year tenure at the Company, Mr. Del Matto had also led the Company’s Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis, and Revenue and Cost Accounting teams. Prior to joining Symantec in January 2005, Mr. Del Matto had been employed by Inktomi Corporation and SGI Corporation in a variety of finance and accounting leadership roles. Mr. Del Matto started his career with KPMG LLP as a certified public accountant.
Talari Networks Adds Walter Carrington as VP, Worldwide Sales
Talari Networks hired Walter Carrington as its new worldwide VP of sales. Carrington was previously at Sunnyvale-based Juniper Networks Inc. In his new role, he will be in charge of increasing Talari’s customer base, forging new strategic partnerships and expanding its national sales force. He will report to CEO Emerick Woods.
Telenav Names Michael Strambi as CFO to Succeed Doug Miller
TeleNav announced that Douglas Miller, 55, chief financial officer of the company since May 2006, plans to resign his position as of June 15, 2012, to take an extended sabbatical. He will be succeeded by Michael Strambi, 50, currently the company’s vice president of finance. Miller recommended Strambi as his successor and will remain with the company as a consultant for a period of time after his formal resignation to assure a continued smooth transition. Mike Strambi joined Telenav as vice president of finance in November 2009. He has more than 20 years of experience in financial leadership roles for public and private companies. From 2002 to 2006, he was vice president, controller and treasurer of Macromedia, Inc. More recently, he served in senior financial roles for several private, venture-backed technology companies, including Silver Spring Networks, Inc., Metacafe, Inc., and MobiTV, Inc. He also served as vice president, finance for Blue Martini Software. Strambi began his career in public accounting at Ernst & Young.
Verigy Appoints Robert Nikl as EVP and CFO
Verigy appointed Robert J. Nikl, age 57, as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Nikl will also serve as the Company’s Chief Accounting Officer. Mr. Nikl served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Verigy Ltd. from June 2006 to October 2011. Verigy was acquired by Advantest Corporation in July 2011. Prior to Verigy, Mr. Nikl was Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Asyst Technologies, Inc. from September 2004 to June 2006. Mr. Nikl previously held financial management positions at Solectron Corporation and Xerox Corporation and began his career in public accounting at KPMG Peat Marwick. Mr. Nikl is a certified public accountant with active licenses in California and New York. The employment agreement with Mr. Nikl provides that Mr. Nikl will receive an annual base salary of $350,000, subject to periodic review for increases. Mr. Nikl will be eligible to receive a quarterly target bonus of $56,875 based upon the company’s performance with respect to applicable performance targets.
VMware Promotes Raghu Raghuram to EVP of Cloud Infrastructure
Raghu Raghuram has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Cloud Infrastructure and Management. Raghuram previously served as VMware’s General Manager and Senior Vice President.
VMware Names Carl Eschenbach as COO and Co-President
VMware named Carl Eschenbach as VMware’s Chief Operating Officer and Co-President. Mr. Eschenbach previously served as VMware’s Co-President, Customer Operations since January 2011. Mr. Eschenbach served as VMware’s Executive Vice President of Worldwide Field Operations from 2005 to 2011. Prior to joining VMware in 2002, he was Vice President of North America Sales at Inktomi from 2000 to 2002. He also held various sales management positions with 3Com Corporation, Lucent Technologies and EMC. In connection with Mr. Eschenbach’s promotion, Mr. Eschenbach’s base salary was increased to $675,000.
Yahoo Appoints Sam Shrauger as SVP and Molie Spilman as SVP to Co-Lead Commerce Business Unit
Yahoo! announced that former PayPal executive, Sam Shrauger, and current Yahoo! executive, Mollie Spilman, will co-lead the new consumer commerce business unit for Yahoo!. Both executives will hold titles of senior vice president, reporting to CEO, Scott Thompson and sit on Thompson’s executive leadership team. Under Shrauger and Spilman’s leadership, the new commerce business will focus on delivering engaging and personalized consumer commerce experiences which will connect consumers to marketers and merchants.
Shrauger joins Yahoo! after fourteen years of developing commerce products and services for the Internet. Most recently, he was vice president of PayPal’s global product and customer experience organization, in which he defined the product vision and strategy for PayPal’s global product portfolio. He was also instrumental in building PayPal’s $78 billion merchant services business and in developing products for the company’s entry into traditional offline retail payments.
A current Yahoo! executive, Spilman most recently led marketing for Yahoo!’s Americas region. Under her leadership, Yahoo! built strategies which delivered relevant insights to clients and created programs that increased consumer engagement and usage across multiple platforms. Spilman comes into this role with more than 22 years of experience in media, advertising and marketing at companies such as AOL, Time Warner, Meredith Corporation, Discovery Networks and Advertising.com.
Yahoo Appoints Marta Nicols as Chief of Staff
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has selected Marta Nichols, who was the VP of investor relations, as his new chief of staff. Interestingly, Joel Jones, the chief of staff under Thompson’s predecessor, has moved to Facebook. After CEO Carol Bartz was ousted in the fall, Jones moved to a job as VP of Americas Ad advancement of Yahoo!’s product strategy.
ZipRealty appoints Eric Mersch as the Company’s Senior VP, CFO and CAO
ZipRealty appointed Eric L. Mersch as the Company’s Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer. David A. Rector, former Chief Financial Officer, will continue with the Company as Senior Vice President, Finance during a transition period until his retirement later this year. Mr. Mersch, age 44, most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Imaging Advantage, LLC, a provider of comprehensive radiology solutions to health centers and radiology groups. He has a solid foundation in the fields of finance, management and accounting that has allowed him to flourish throughout his more than 20 years of experience with companies including Sonim Technologies, Inc. (CFO), Deer Valley Ventures (co-Founder), DemandFlex, LLC (CFO), Razorgator Inc. (CFO), an Internet ticketing services company, VitalStream, Inc. (CFO), a content delivery network provider, Harrah’s Entertainment (now Caesar’s Entertainment) (VP Finance), a gaming and hospitality business. Mr. Mersch’s previous experience also includes seven years with the U.S. Navy as a Division Officer of the U.S.S. Los Angeles, a nuclear submarine. Mr. Mersch will receive an annual base salary of $275,000 and 250,000 stock options.
Executive Leaves
AMD’s Pat Patla Leaves for Samsumg
Pat Patla, GM and Corporate VP of Server Products, tendered his resignation. He has joined Samsung as a vice president.
Cypress Announces Resignation of Norm Taffe as EVP
Cypress Semiconductor announced the resignation of Norm Taffe, executive vice president of the Consumer and Computation Division, after 23 years with the company. Mr. Taffe will be leaving the company this summer to pursue a start-up business opportunity outside of the electronics industry.
Echelon’s Oliver Stanfield Retires
Oliver R. Stanfield retired from his position as Executive Vice President of Echelon Corporation. He had previously retired as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer in November 2011 and had agreed to remain with the company during a transition period. Mr. Stanfield will remain employed by the company in a non-executive capacity until June, 2012.
Equinix CMO Jarret Appleby Leaves for CoreSite’s Realty COO
CoreSite Realty Corp. named Jarrett Appleby its chief operating operator. Appleby previously was chief marketing officer for Equinix Inc., and before that was an executive with Reliance Globalcom LTD and several other companies.
Exar Corporation Terminates Frank Marazita as Sr. VP of WW Operations
Exar Corporation terminated the employment of Frank Marazita, the Company’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Operations and Reliability & Quality Assurance. In connection with his termination, the company entered into a separation agreement that, among other things, subject to the terms and conditions of the Agreement, Mr. Marazita will receive $80,000 as a severance payment, paid as a lump sum, and payment of three months of COBRA premiums.
Extreme Networks’ Michael Seaton Resigns as Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services
Extreme Networks announced that Michael L. Seaton resigned as Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services and as an employee of the Company, effective as of May 31, 2012.
HP Labs Chief Prith Banerjee Leaves for ABB Group as CTO
Hewlett-Packard Senior Vice President Prith Banerjee is leaving the company after five years in charge of HP Labs, its research wing. ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has appointed Prith Banerjee to its Executive Committee in the role of Chief Technology Officer. Banerjee, 51, will start mid-year 2012 and will be based in Zurich. HP Senior Fellow Chandrakant Patel, director of its Sustainable Ecosystems Research Group, will be in charge at HP labs until a replacement is found.
LeapFrog Enterprises Announces Retirement of William Campbell as President of Americas Sales
William K. Campbell, President of Americas Sales of LeapFrog Enterprises, notified the company that he is retiring from the Company, after 12 years of service, effective June 15, 2012.
Maxim’s Vijay Ullal, President of Consumer and Automotive Solutions Group, Announces Departure
Vijay Ullal, President of the Maxim’s Consumer and Automotive Solutions Group, is departing from the company effective April 27, 2012.
OpenTable Separates from Charles McCullough as SVP of Engineering
OpenTable and Charles McCullough, Senior Vice President, Engineering, agreed to a transition and separation. To facilitate an orderly transition until a new Senior Vice President, Engineering commences employment, Mr. McCullough is expected to continue as Senior Vice President, Engineering and assist in the recruitment and training of, and the transition of his responsibilities to, a new Senior Vice President, Engineering. During the Transition Period, Mr. McCullough will continue to receive salary at an annual rate of $275,000 and benefits at the level in effect. Following the end of the Transition Period, Mr. McCullough is expected to serve as Technical Advisor to the company. During such period, Mr. McCullough’s salary will be at an annual rate of $100,000, commensurate with his role as Technical Advisor. In the event that Mr. McCullough’s employment is terminated by the company during the Transition Period or the Technical Advisor Period other than for cause or by Mr. McCullough for any reason during the six months following the effective date of the Agreement, Mr. McCullough will be entitled to receive (a) a lump sum payment equal to the lesser of (i) Base Salary for six months or (ii) Base Salary for the period from the Separation Date through November 1, 2013.
Silicon Graphics’ James Wheat Resigns as SVP, CFO and CAO
James Wheat resigned as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer of Silicon Graphics International Corp. effective as of May 14, 2012. Mr. Wheat will remain with the company until June 1, 2012 to assist with the transition. Mr. Wheat’s resignation was for personal reasons and not related to any of the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
Silicon Graphics’ Timothy Pebworth Resigns as VP and CAO
Timothy Pebworth, Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Silicon Graphics International resigned from his positions with the company effective on April 20, 2012. Mr. Pebworth’s resignation was for personal reasons and not related to any of the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
Symantec’s Phillip Bullock to Leave the CAO Post
Phillip A. Bullock, who was appointed as Symantec’s Chief Accounting Officer in September 2009, announced he will be leaving the company to lead the tax department at Apple, Inc., and not due to any disagreement with the company on any matters relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices.
Symantec’s CIO Becomes CIO of Western Union
Western Union has tapped David Thompson, formerly of Symantec, to be the company’s next chief information officer. Thompson previously served as CIO of Oracle and PeopleSoft. Thompson came to Oracle through the company’s acquisition of PeopleSoft, where he spent seven years at the company. There, he helped the company adopt Internet applications to reduce costs and improve efficiency. At PeopleSoft, he also led the M&A integrations of Vantive and JD Edwards. Thompson replaces John R. Dick, who has left the company. Thompson brings experience with mergers and acquisitions as well as cloud and software services to Western Union. He made $1.9 million during the 12 months that ended in April 2010, according to company filings, the most recent compensation data available. Symantec has not yet named a successor, said a company spokesman.
VMware’s Mark Peek Resigns as CFO
Mark Peek resigned from his position as VMware’s Chief Financial Officer and Co-President, Business Operations effective as of May 11, 2012 in order to take a new opportunity as Chief Financial Officer of Workday, where he currently serves on their Board of Directors. Mr. Peek will stay with VMware in a transitional role until June 1, 2012. The company initiated a selection process for a new CFO.
Yahoo’s Blake Irving Leaves as EVP and Chief Product Officer
Blake Irving, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Yahoo! Inc. to will leave the Company on April 27, 2012.
ZipRealty’s CFO David Rector to Retire
David A. Rector, former Chief Financial Officer of ZipRealty, will retire later this year. He will continue with the company as Senior Vice President, Finance during a transition period.
Board Appointments and Leaves
DSP Group’s Louis Silver Resigns from the Board
Louis Silver tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors of the Company, effective as of the adjournment of the 2012 Annual Meeting.
eHealth Director Steven Cakebread not to stand Re-election
Steven M. Cakebread, a director of eHealth, notified the company of his intention not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the Company’s 2012 annual meeting of stockholders, which is currently expected to be held in June 2012. His decision was not due to any disagreement with the company or any matter relating to the Company’s operations, policies or practices.
Fortinet’ Greg Myers Will Not Stand Re-election to the Board
Mr. Greg Myers notified Fortinet that he will not stand for re-election to the Company’s Board of Directors and tendered his resignation effective June 14, 2012, immediately prior to the Company’s 2012 Annual Meeting.
Intuit Names Jeff Weiner to the Board
Intuit announced the appointment of Jeff Weiner, chief executive officer of LinkedIn, to its board of directors. Weiner’s appointment adds social networking expertise and consumer web and mobile product acumen to the team and brings Intuit’s board membership to nine. Weiner, 42, leads the world’s largest professional network on the Internet. Weiner joined LinkedIn in 2008 and became CEO in 2009. Previously he was an executive in residence at Accel Partners and Greylock Partners. He also served as executive vice president of Yahoo’s network division and, prior to that, helped build Warner Bros.’ online efforts. In addition to LinkedIn, Weiner serves on the board of directors for DonorsChoose.org and Malaria No More.
Jive’s CMO John Rizzo Joins Board of PixyKids
Jive Software’s chief marketing officer, John Rizzo, has joined the board of directors at PixyKids, a social media platform aimed at children and families. Rizzo is a 25-year Silicon Valley veteran and previously CEO of Zeebo, an interactive entertainment and education outfit targeting emerging markets. PixyKids is backed by $3 million in venture capital, including $2 million from ATA Ventures.
LeapFrog Enterprises’ Messrs. David Nagel and Philip Simon Will Not Stand Re-election to the Board
LeapFrog Enterprises Messrs. David C. Nagel and Philip B. Simon each notified the Board that they have decided not to stand for re-election as a director of the Company and that they will each serve until their term expires on June 5, 2012.
Omnicell’s William Younger, Jr. Resigns from the Board
William H. Younger, Jr. resigned as a member of Board of Directors of Omnicell effective immediately prior to Omnicell’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Mr. Younger’s resignation was not the result of any disagreement with Omnicell on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices, and Omnicell wishes to thank Mr. Younger for his 20 years of contribution to the Board.
Super Micro Computer Announces Edward Hayes’ Resignation and Laura Black’s Nomination to the Board
Edward J. Hayes, Jr. notified the Company of his resignation from the Board of Directors of the Company and from all committees. There are no disagreements with Mr. Hayes on any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices. Mr. Hayes will be continuing as a consultant to the company. Gregory K. Hinckley was appointed to serve as Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Board.
Laura Black was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Board of Directors resulting from Mr. Hayes’ resignation. Ms. Black has over twenty years’ experience in high technology, business strategy and finance. Since 1999, she has served as a Managing Director of Needham & Company, LLC, a full service investment banking firm. At Needham, she has raised public and private equity capital for numerous technology companies and served as strategic financial advisor on multiple M&A transactions. From July 1995 to February 1999, she served as a Managing Director and Corporate Finance at Black & Company, a regional investment bank subsequently acquired by Wells Fargo Van Kasper. From July 1993 to June 1995, Ms. Black served as a Director for TRW Avionics & Surveillance Group where she evaluated acquisition candidates, managed direct investments and raised venture capital to back spin-off companies. From August 1983 to August 1992, she worked at TRW as an electrical engineer designing spread spectrum communication systems. Ms. Black was also appointed to serve on the Audit Committee of the Board. Ms. Black is entitled to receive standard non-employee director compensation. Non-employee directors receive an annual retainer of $40,000, payable quarterly. In addition, each director serving in a non-chairperson capacity on our audit, compensation or nominating and corporate governance committees receives an annual retainer of $2,500 per committee, payable quarterly. Each non-employee director is automatically granted an initial option to purchase 18,000 shares upon first becoming a member of our board of directors.
Ultratech Names Michael Child to the Board
Ultratech announced that Michael C. Child has been appointed to serve as a member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Child joined TA Associates, Inc., a Boston-based private equity firm that manages over $16 billion in capital, in 1982, and currently serves as a Senior Advisor. Mr. Child is a board member of Finisar Corporation, IPG Photonics, and FreeWave Technologies. During his tenure at TA he has served as a Director of 16 public companies including AST Research, Cadence Design Systems, DH Technology, Eagle Test Systems, Fargo Electronics, Network General Corporation, Novellus Systems and Sonic Solutions. He served on the Board of Directors of Ultratech from 1993 to 1997. Prior to joining TA, Mr. Child worked for Rolm Corporation as a Product Manager, The Boston Consulting Group as a consultant, and Hewlett-Packard as a Production Engineer.
Executive Compensation Changes
Align Technology Amends Incentive Plan for Board of Directors
Board of Directors of Align Technology approved an amendment to the Incentive Plan, so that it will no longer provide for an automatic grant of 10,000 stock options and 3,000 restricted stock units to each outside member of Align’s Board of Directors on the date of each annual meeting.
Google Approves Compensation Arrangement for Nikesh Arora, SVP and Chief Business officer
Google approved a compensation arrangement for Nikesh Arora, Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer. Pursuant to the agreement, certain awards of stock options and Google Stock Units previously granted were cancelled. In exchange for the cancelled awards, Nikesh will receive a cash payment of $4.7 million and a discretionary cash bonus payment of $3.3 million.
NeoPhotonics Awards Cash Bonus
NeoPhotonics Corporation awarded discretionary cash bonus awards payable to certain of the company’s “named executive officers” for performance related to the fiscal year 2011 in the amounts set forth: Timothy S. Jenks, President and Chief Executive Officer $55,550, James D. Fay, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer $46,992, Dr. Raymond Cheung, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer $41,033, Dr. Wupen Yuen, Vice President of Product Development and Engineering $37,160, Benjamin L. Sitler, Vice President of Global Sales $33,911.
TiVo Adopts Executive Bonus Plan and Salary Increases
TiVo adopted its Fiscal Year 2013 Bonus Plan for Executive Officers. Under the plan, cash bonuses, if any, will be based on the company’s achievement of specified corporate goals and individual achievement of specified departmental and individual goals. The Board of Directors approved salary increases for each of the following executive officers who were “named executive officers” in the 2011 annual meeting proxy statement: Anna Brunelle, CFO $310,000, Jeffrey Klugman, SVP/GM of Products $410,000, Matthew Zinn, General Counsel $350,000.
The Board of Directors approved the terms of a three-year employment package for President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Rogers. At least 50% of Mr. Rogers’ equity compensation from his employment package will be contingent on the company’s future performance in addition to Mr. Rogers’ annual bonus. The approved terms include an annual base salary of $1.15 million and a target annual bonus equal to 100% of his annual base salary, with a potential for 0 – 200% of the target. There are no allowances or retention bonuses under the agreement.
Executives on Lookout
We constantly receive inquiries from our network of executives that are passively interested in new opportunities. Although, we do not represent individual candidates, from time to time, we facilitate connections between great leaders and opportunities. If interested, contact us at [email protected] or (650) 937-9150. We currently have the following executives on lookout.
- Director of Engineering – extensive experience in enterprise security, SaaS and cloud
- VP Software Development – experienced in leading large and diversified enterprise engineering teams
- VP of Product Development – Internet services company, cloud, SaaS
- VP of Technology – deep expertise in background in wireless, mobile, enterprise, analytics and cloud
- Director of Business Development – wireless communications, Marketing and Operations
- VP of Business Development – in semiconductors with immense network in China, Taiwan and Singapore
- Board Member – SVP of sales in public company interested to serve on a board of a private or public company
- General Counsel – with over 20 years of experience in publicly traded technology companies
About Simon Bloch and TowerHunter
About Simon Bloch
Simon leads the Technology practice for TowerHunter, and focuses on executive search of C-Level, Vice Presidents and Directors for companies in the Software, Semiconductors, Electronics, and Internet markets. He recruits leaders across all functions of an organization, including engineering, R&D, marketing, sales, business development, operations, finance, HR, IT, customer support, services and general management. Simon works with public, private, startup and international technology companies.
Simon’s experience ranges from a Vice President and General Manager at a billion dollar public company to founder and CEO of a venture-funded Silicon Valley start-up. Simon has recruited, hired and managed executives in the Silicon Valley, US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. He is passionate about connecting great leaders with opportunities and operates on the principals of a) being the best, b) delivering value, c) authenticity, and d) easy to do business with.
Simon holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Tel Aviv University in Israel, with specializations in computers, microelectronics and medical equipment. He is a graduate of the Stanford University School of Business CTO leadership and innovation forum. Simon is a citizen of the US, Israel and Lithuania (part of European Union), he is fluent in English, Hebrew, Russian and Lithuanian languages. He and his family reside in the Silicon Valley, California. Simon welcomes your inquiries and can be reached at [email protected] or (650) 937-9150.
About TowerHunter
TowerHunter is a retained search firm with offices in Silicon Valley, Phoenix and Boston. We have completed hundreds of searches of C-level, VPs and Directors in engineering, sales, marketing, business development, operations, IT, HR and finance. These are the top reasons why our clients value our services:
- Track record – we have an outstanding track record of 96% placement rate with 99% over one year stay
- Business model – pay per performance fee structure with a stay guarantee
- Expertise – all partners experienced operational executives and lead all searches
- Resources – a comprehensive candidate database with research staff to uncover passive candidates
- Communications – we listen, plan, execute and communicate throughout the search process
- Search process – we find the best talent wherever they are with minimal “blockage”
- Assessment – we are experts in assessing candidates
- Advisory – we team up with client executives to advise and address business issues with placing talent
- Motivation – we are motivated and dedicated to be a key and trusted resource to our clients organizations
- Integrity – we hold ourselves to the highest moral, ethical and professional standards
Practice Leaders:
Simon Bloch
Direct Dial (650) 937-9150
Email: [email protected]
Scott Smith
Direct Dial: (602) 652-8605
Fax: (602) 494-5650
Email: [email protected]