Tech Giants Going Through Board and Leadership Shuffles: Microsoft, Facebook, Intel & Others

Facebook Names Head Global Music Strategy and BD

Facebook has hired Tamara Hrivnak to head its global music strategy and business development. The former director of music partnerships at YouTube and Google Play is a veteran of the music business, having spent almost eight years at Warner Music Group and Warner/Chappell before joining Google in 2011.

Intel Promotes Three Corporate Officers 

Intel has promoted three corporate officers. Steven R. Rodgers was promoted from SVP to EVP. He is general counsel of Intel and leads Intel’s Law and Policy Group. Rodgers joined Intel in 2000, was elected SVP in 2015.

Aicha S. Evans was elevated from corporate VP to SVP. She is general manager of the Communication and Devices Group at Intel and is responsible for driving wireless communications for all Intel platforms. Evans joined Intel in 2006, was elected to corporate VP in 2014.

Leslie S. Culbertson was promoted from corporate VP and director of finance to SVP and director of human resources. She will oversee all of Intel’s human resource functions and policies. Culbertson joined Intel in 1979, was elected to corporate VP and director of finance in 2003.

Oracle Appoints Product Development SVP to Lead the Startup Cloud Accelerator Program Expansion Reggie Bradfor

Oracle announced the expansion of its Startup Cloud Accelerator program. The initiative will continue to fuel cloud-enabled innovation around the globe by opening new centers in Bristol, Delhi–NCR, Mumbai, Paris, São Paulo, Singapore and Tel Aviv. Oracle SVP of Product Development Reggie Bradford, will lead the program expansion alongside Oracle Group VP of Development Sanket Atal, who first launched the pilot program in India.

IBM Announces Couple of Executive Changes   

Stanley J. Sutula III, VP and Controller, resigned his position to undertake a position as CFO at another public company. IBM Board elected Robert F. Del Bene, 57, to become VP and Controller. Del Bene is currently General Manager, IBM Global Financing and previously served as IBM's Treasurer. Del Bene joined the Company in 1981 and has also served as the senior finance executive for various IBM business units including Global Services and Sales & Distribution.

International Business Machines Corporation named executive officers Michael D. Rhodin and Bridget A. van Kralingen will retain their operational responsibilities and remain SVPs of the Company, but will no longer be Section 16 “executive officers” as defined by the Exchange Act of 1934, effective January 1, 2017.

Texas Instruments Appoints Board Member, CFO & COO     

Texas Instruments announced that Todd M. Bluedorn has been elected to the company's board of directors. Bluedorn is chairman of the board and CEO of Lennox International. Before joining the company, Bluedorn, held a number of senior management positions at United Technologies Corporation, including president of three different businesses.

Texas Instruments also announced that Rafael Lizardi will become SVP and CFO. Lizardi, 44, joined TI in 2001 and was named vice president in 2010 followed by corporate controller in 2012.

Brian Crutcher has been promoted to COO. Crutcher, 44, is a 21-year veteran of the company and has been EVP responsible for all business and sales operations, Kilby Labs and IT. Crutcher joined TI in 1996 and during his first 10 years served in a variety of leadership roles in the sales organization, including VP in charge of the Americas.

Accenture Witnesses Several Leadership Moves

Valerie Abend has joined Accenture as managing director, Accenture Security - Financial Services, North America. Previously, she was Senior Critical Infrastructure Officer at the U.S. Department of Treasury (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) advising U.S. banking regulatory principals on cybersecurity.

Madeleine Chenette joined as office managing director for Montreal. In this role Chenette will be responsible for expanding Accenture's business presence in Quebec, focusing on bringing innovation to clients, attracting top talent and strengthening the company's impact in the Quebec community. Chenette joins Accenture from KPMG Canada, where she led the strategy service line for the past four years.

Wayne Hull was named as managing director and head of Accenture Digital for South and Sub-Saharan Africa. Prior to joining Accenture, Hull was the Digital Advisor for Sportradar Global. He has held a number of senior positions including board member and Global SVP for AGT International, Director and General Manager for Cisco in the Middle East and Pakistan. He also headed the Technology Group and Financial Services Consulting practices at IBM Southern Africa.

Accenture has hired Tammy Soares as managing director to lead Accenture Interactives West region in North America. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing Accenture Interactives business in eight states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Most recently, she served as president and CEO of Publicis Groupes Rosetta.

The Priceline Group Announces CEO Changes

The Priceline Group reported that Glenn Fogel, the company's current Head of Strategy and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development, has been named CEO of the company. Current Interim CEO and non-Executive Chairman of the Board Jeff Boyd, who served as the company's CEO from 2002-2013, Chairman of the Board since 2013 and Interim CEO since April of 2016, will assume the role of Executive Chairman.

Prior to joining The Priceline Group, Fogel worked in investment banking and asset management at various firms, including Morgan Stanley. The Corporate Development team that previously reported to Fogel will now report to the company's Chief Financial Officer, Dan Finnegan.

TCS Approves Removal of Director; Appoints New CEO and COO      

Tata Consultancy Services approved removal of C. P. Mistry as director of the company. Mistry was the chairman of Tata Group, an Indian business conglomerate, between 2012 and 2016.

TCS announced that Rajesh Gopinathan has been appointed as CEO and Managing Director. Gopinathan takes over from N Chandrasekaran who has been appointed as the Chairman of Tata Sons. TCS has also named N Ganapathy Subramaniam, who is currently President, TCS Financial Solutions as the President and COO and appointed him as a director on the board of the company. Prior to becoming the CFO Rajesh was the VP- Business Finance. N. Ganapathy Subramaniam is curently the President of TCS Financial Solutions.

Baidu Appoints Microsoft Exec as President and COO

Baidu appointed Dr. Qi Lu as Baidu's Group President and COO, in charge of products, technology, sales, marketing and operations, effective immediately. Prior to joining Baidu, Dr. Lu served as Microsoft's Global EVP and led one of Microsoft's three business units. In 2013, Dr. Lu was appointed as Microsoft's Global EVP and was put in charge of its Office business.

Nvidia Appoints General Counsel and Company Secretary from Law Firm   

Nvidia has named Tim Teter as SVP, general counsel and company secretary. Teter will be responsible for all of the company's legal activities. He will take on these responsibilities from David Shannon, who previously announced his intention to retire from the company. Teter most recently served as a partner at the law firm Cooley, where for more than two decades he focused on litigating patent and technology-related matters.

Adobe Combines Chair-CEO Roles and Appoints Lead Director; Chief Accounting Officer Retires        

Adobe announced that its Board of Directors has elected Shantanu Narayen as Chairman of the Board. Narayen will continue in his role as President and CEO of Adobe and succeeds Co-Chairs and Co-Founders of the company, John Warnock and Chuck Geschke, who will remain on the Board.

The company also announced that board member Jim Daley, a 35-year Price Waterhouse veteran and prior CFO of a publicly traded technology company, has been named Lead Director to ensure continued sound corporate governance. Daley has been a board member since 2001 and was formerly the head of the audit committee.

Richard Rowley retired from his position as the Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of Adobe Systems following ten years of service. His decision to retire was previously announced in October 2016. Mark Garrett, EVP and CFO of Adobe, will serve as the interim principal accounting officer while Adobe completes its search for Rowley’s replacement.

WSJ Senior Special Writer Joins Salesforce as EVP, Global Strategic AffairsMonica Langley

Salesforce announced that Senior Special Writer for The Wall Street Journal Monica Langley will join the company as EVP, Global Strategic Affairs. She will work with the company executive team to develop strategies that will continue to accelerate the company's unmatched growth in the industry. Prior to the company, Langley spent 27 years at The Wall Street Journal, where she wrote many page-one profiles, particularly of newsmakers such as CEOs and presidential candidates.

PayPal Appoints Recognized Attorney and Airbnb Business Leader to its Board     

PayPal appointed Belinda Johnson to its board of directors. Johnson is a recognized attorney and business leader who has focused her talents on crafting and directing policies and strategies that enable high-growth, consumer-facing internet companies for more than two decades. Johnson is the Chief Business Affairs and Legal Officer at Airbnb.

Yahoo CEO and Five Other Directors to Step Down from Board on Completion of Acquisition by Verizon

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer will step down from the board on completion of its $4.8 billion acquisition by Verizon. Mayer will leave the board alongside its cofounder David Filo and board members Eddy Hartenstein, Richard Hill, Jane Shaw, and Maynard Webb. Eric Brandt will become board chairman once the sale of its core business is completed. The company added that the remaining units of the business will operate as an investment company under the name Altaba. Under the chairmanship of Brandt, Tor Braham, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney, and Jeffrey Smith will all remain on the board.

VMware Announces Middle East and North Africa Region Appointments  

VMware has announced several new appointments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, appointing Mohammed Darras as the new country manager for the UAE, Ahmed El Saadi to country manager, for North Africa, Levant, and Egypt, and promoting Ossama Eldeeb to senior manager, MENA Partner Organisation. This announcement comes at a time when customer demand for public cloud infrastructure, applications, and services, is expected to double in the region with market research firm Gartner, predicting a rise from $743 million in 2015 to $1.73 billion in 2020.

Mohammed Darras brings more than 19 years’ sales experience in the region, most recently serving as regional sales manager for Cisco UAE.

Ahmed El Saadi has more than 12 years’ experience to his role at VMware, most recently serving as regional sales manager in Cyber Security for North Africa for Palo Alto Networks.

With over 22 years’ business and IT experience, Ossama Eldeeb has been promoted internally from senior partner business manager, VMware MENA.

Infosys Appoints Deputy COO; Announces Cessation of General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer           

Infosys has appointed Ravikumar S. as Deputy COO. In addition to his current responsibility of heading the global delivery organization, Ravikumar S. will oversee certain strategic Business Enabling Functions and will be based in India.

Infosys announced that David Kennedy, its General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, and the Company have mutually agreed that Mr. Kennedy's employment with the Company will cease end of 2016.

Activision Blizzard Names New CEO     

Activision Blizzard announced the launch of a newly created Consumer Products division and the appointment of veteran Mattel and Disney executive Tim Kilpin as its CEO and president. Most recently, Kilpin served as Mattel’s president and chief commercial officer, overseeing the company’s sales and marketing functions across all regions. Previously, he served as EVP for Mattel’s Boys and Girls Division. Prior to that, Kilpin was EVP of franchise management for The Walt Disney Company.

Micron Technology CEO to Retire           

Micron Technology announced the upcoming retirement of its CEO, Mark Durcan. The Board of Directors has formed a special committee to oversee the succession process and has initiated a search, with the assistance of an executive search firm, to identify and vet candidates. Mark Durcan will continue to lead Micron as CEO during this process and will assist the company with its search and subsequent leadership transition.

Analog Devices Announces Changes to Board Membership   Mark M. Little

Analog Devices announced that Mark M. Little, former SVP, GE Global Research and CTO of GE, has been elected as a Director of the Company, and that the Board of Directors of the Company intends to elect Robert H.  Swanson, Executive Chairman of Linear Technology Corporation, as a Director following the closing of the Company’s acquisition of Linear Technology Corporation.

Richard Beyer and John Hodgson will retire from the Company’s Board. Dr.  Little is the former SVP, GE Global Research and CTO of GE. Swanson, a founder of Linear Technology, has served as Executive Chairman of the Linear Technology board of directors since January 2005.

Paychex Expands Board, Appoints Successful Entrepreneur as New Member        

HCM Solutions firm Paychex appointed Thomas F. Bonadio, CPA, to fill a newly created board position. Bonadio is CEO and managing partner of the Bonadio Group, the largest certified public accountant firm in New York State outside of Manhattan. He founded Bonadio & Co. in 1978.

Western Digital Announces CTO Changes         

Western Digital appointed Martin Fink to the position of CTO. Fink most recently served as CTO and director of HP Labs at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Fink succeeds CTO Steven Campbell who will depart the company to pursue other opportunities after a long and distinguished career with Western Digital. Prior to being named CTO and director of HP Labs at HPE in 2012, Fink was SVP and general manager of Business Critical Systems for HP’s Enterprise, Storage and Servers business unit.

Ericsson Announces Topmost Management Changes

Ericsson announced that in connection with Borje Ekholm assuming the position as President and CEO of Ericsson, Jan Frykhammar, who has temporarily held the position as President and CEO, remains a member of the Executive Leadership Team and is appointed Executive Vice President and Advisor to the CEO. Jan Frykhammar will support Borje Ekholm during a transition period and will focus on corporate governance and efficiency.

Magnus Mandersson remains Executive Vice President, Advisor to the CEO, focusing on customer relationships, and a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Mandersson also remains Chairperson of four out of Ericsson's ten regions.

Carl Mellander remains acting Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Leadership Team.

Ericsson has appointed Wojciech Bajda as the head of industry and society init for Region Middle East. Bajda will be responsible for driving business growth and capturing market opportunities within the Middle East region. Bajda joined the company in Poland in 2000 as a sales manager.

Autodesk CEO to Step Down         

Autodesk announced that Carl Bass has decided to step down as president and CEO. The company's board has instituted a CEO search to consider candidates inside and outside the company and has formed an Interim Office of the Chief Executive to oversee the company's day-to-day operations. Bass will remain on staff as a special advisor to the company in support of the transition to a new CEO. He will continue to sit on the company's board of directors.

Skyworks Solutions Appoints New Worldwide Operations Leader

Bruce J. Freyman retired from his position as EVP, Worldwide Operations of Skyworks Solutions, in connection with a planned reduction in his commitments. Freyman will continue as an employee of the Company serving in a non-executive transition role supporting his successor, Steven C. Machuga, 52, the new VP, Worldwide Operations. Machuga has been with the company since 1999 and most recently served as Skyworks’ VP of external manufacturing and operations engineering.

Red Hat Promotes Finance and Accounting VP to Acting CFO Role          

Red Hat appointed Eric R. Shander to serve as the company's acting CFO and principal financial officer, pending a decision on a permanent replacement. Shander replaces Frank Calderoni, whose resignation was previously disclosed by the Company. Shander joined the company in November 2015 and currently serves as the Company's VP, Finance and Accounting and principal accounting officer. Prior to joining the company, Shander spent over twenty years in a variety of business and finance roles at IBM.

Seagate Technology Appoints Micron Technology’s Worldwide Sales VP to Board 

Seagate Technology named Mark W. Adams to the company’s Board of Directors. From 2006 to February 2012, Adams served in a number of positions at Micron Technology, including as VP of Worldwide Sales and VP of Digital Media. Prior to joining Micron Technology, he served as COO of Lexar Media in 2006 and as VP of Sales and Marketing of Creative Labs from 2002 to 2006.  He has served as a director of Cadence Design Systems since 2015.

Motorola Solutions Elects Former Emotient CEO to its Board 

Motorola Solutions announced that Ken Denman has been elected to its board of directors. Denman was previously President and CEO of Emotient. He also held CEO positions at two Silicon Valley software companies Openwave Systems and iPass, and was COO – Wireless, for MediaOne International. Denman currently serves on the board of ShoreTel and Mitek.

Citrix Systems Reveals Executive Departures     

Citrix Systems announced the departure of Christopher S. Hylen, SVP and General Manager, Mobility Apps, in connection with the closing of the transaction with LogMeIn.

Each of Klaus Oestermann, SVP and General Manager, Delivery Networks, and Jesse Lipson, Corporate VP and General Manager of Cloud Services, of Citrix Systems announced and informed Citrix that he will be leaving the company.

First Data Launches First Data Integrated Solutions Group; Appoints SAP Exec to Head ISG EJ Jackson     

First Data is launching First Data Integrated Solutions Group, or ISG, a new business segment focused on expanded software developer tools for integration with First Data's platforms. First Data has hired EJ Jackson to head up ISG. He comes to First Data from SAP, where he served as SVP and GM of SAP Anywhere. Prior to his role at SAP, Jackson was the president and founder of Provade, a leading VMS SaaS provider in the market.

ServiceNow Announces Executive Changes

ServiceNow announced that Daniel R. McGee stepped down from his role as COO. The company appointed Chirantan CJ" Desai, 46, as the company's Chief Product Officer, to take effect upon his commencement of employment, which occurred in December 2016. Most recently, Desai served as the President of the Emerging Technologies Division at EMC.

Twitter Sees Sequence of Leadership Developments

Twitter's VP of product, Josh McFarland is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. McFarland was leaving to join Greylock Partners.

Twitter's Chief Technology Officer Adam Messinger decided to leave the company and take some time off.

Twitter has appointed a new managing director, with Sinéad McSweeney taking up the role in Ireland. McSweeney is the current VP of public policy and communications for the EMEA region. Outgoing managing director Mark Little was stepping down, less than six months after he took up the role.

Date Range: January 3rd - February 8th 2017