VMware Adds AI Technologist, Venture Capitalist To Its Board
‘Ken is an experienced technologist and corporate director with deep roots in software, mobile and AI technologies,’ says VMware board member Paul Sagan. By Mark Haranas January 20, 2021, 11:34 AM EST
With VMware’s fearless CEO Pat Gelsinger leaving for Intel and Dell Technologies eyeing a spin-off of its majority stake in VMware later this year, the virtualization superstar is adding seasoned technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist Ken Denman to its board of directors.
Denman is a venture partner at Sway Ventures but was previously co-founder and CEO of Emotient, an artificial intelligence startup that analyzes facial expressions which was acquired by Apple in 2016. He was also the CEO of software communications specialist Openwaves Systems, as well as cloud-based service manager and Wi-Fi company iPass for which he led a successful IPO in 2003.
A sideways look at the enterprise fall out from the musical chairs played by defecting VMware execs
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Summary:
First VMware’s COO resigned to take up the role of CEO at Nutanix, rapidly followed by a lawsuit for breach of contract and fiduciary duty; then the CEO left to join Intel as its new boss. The bigger questions in both cases are the same – what might be the eventual result?
(Pixabay)
Recent weeks have seen two ‘people’ stories emerge from VMware, both highlighting subtle, but deeply significant changes that are occuring across the IT vendor community right now. Story one concerns VMware’s Chief Operating Officer Rajiv Ramaswami, who has gone off to join Nutanix as CEO, replacing the retiring Dheeraj Pandey. Story two concerns VMware s CEO Pat Gelsinger, who is off to be the CEO of Intel.
Intel had snatched away
VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger to replace Bob Swan and fix the troubled chip giant is weighing heavily on shares of both VMware and
Dell Technologies, which has an 80.6% stake in the company.
Last year, Dell (ticker: DELL) confirmed press reports that it was considering spinning off its VMware stake to current Dell holders. In such a transaction, VMware (VMW) would likely pay a large cash dividend back to Dell that the PC maker would then use to reduce its substantial debt load.
Now, with VMware losing its iconic leader, there are concerns on Wall Street about VMware’s valuation. Keep in mind that the value of Dell’s stake in VMware is almost equal to Dell’s entire market capitalization.
VMware sues Nutanix CEO
Rajiv Ramaswami (Nutanix) Credit: Nutanix
VMware has filed a lawsuit against its former chief operating officer Rajiv Ramaswami following his ascent to Nutanix s leadership.
The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara, accuses Ramaswami of material and ongoing breaches of contractual duties and obligations.
In a statement, the virtualisation giant claimed Ramaswami “failed to honour his fiduciary and contractual obligations to VMware”. It also asserts that the former COO joined Nutanix as its CEO only two days after leaving VMware back in December.
“For at least two months before resigning from the company, at the same time he was working with senior leadership to shape VMware’s key strategic vision and direction, Mr. Ramaswami also was secretly meeting with at least the CEO, CFO, and apparently the entire Board of Directors of Nutanix, Inc. to become Nutanix’s chief exe
It won t settle anything in the hybrid cloud market Share
Comment In the dog days between Christmas and New Year, VMware and Nutanix renewed hostilities.
It wasn’t hard to see it coming after VMware’s head of cloud Rajiv Ramaswami bailed to become CEO of Nutanix.
VMware sued Ramaswami because he was simultaneously working for VMware while chatting to Nutanix about his new job. “He should have disclosed this conflict of interest to VMware so that the company could have taken steps to protect itself,” VMware said in an announcement that it has sued its former employee “for material and ongoing breaches of his legal and contractual duties and obligations to VMware.”