Rajiv Ramaswami.

Private cloud, hybrid, and multi-cloud computing services provider Nutanix has announced that Rajiv Ramaswami has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective Wednesday, December 9, 2020, and as a member of the Board of Directors, effective Monday, December 14, 2020.

In a statement released to the media, the company said Ramaswami will succeed co-founder Dheeraj Pandey, who previously announced his plans to retire as CEO of Nutanix upon the appointment of a successor.

Nutanix describes Ramaswami as a seasoned technology industry executive who has held senior executive roles at industry leaders including VMware, Broadcom, Cisco, and Nortel, after having begun his career at IBM.

“Ramaswami has an impressive, 30+ year track record of building and scaling businesses in cloud services, software, and network infrastructure. In his most recent role as Chief Operating Officer, Products and Cloud Services at VMware, Ramaswami co-managed VMware’s portfolio of products and services. During his tenure, Ramaswami led several important acquisitions and was playing a key role in transitioning VMware toward a subscription and SaaS model,” reads part of the company’s statement.

Sohaib Abbasi, Lead Independent Director of Nutanix, said: “Rajiv is an accomplished leader with a track record of delivering a high-growth portfolio of products and services. Rajiv distinguished himself among the CEO candidates with his rare combination of operational discipline, business acumen, technology vision and inclusive leadership skills. The talented Nutanix team, under Rajiv’s leadership, is well-positioned to drive sustained growth, to improve efficiency and to advance leadership in the emerging hybrid cloud infrastructure category.”

Ramaswami added: “I’m thrilled to be joining Nutanix at this transformative time for the company and the industry. I have long admired Nutanix as a formidable competitor, a pioneer in hyper-converged infrastructure solutions and a leader in cloud software. Working closely with the Board, the management team, and the more than 6,000 talented Nutanix employees around the world, we will build on Nutanix’s strong foundation of continuous innovation, collaboration and customer delight. Together, we will capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead and deliver on the company’s next phase of growth and value creation.”

“Rajiv is the right leader at the right time,” said Pandey. “With a future-proof business model, a loyal and expanding customer base, and a strong technology portfolio, I look forward to seeing Rajiv take the helm to lead this incredible team. This is the decade to watch for a company that so values simple, secure, and seamless. On a personal note, it has been a privilege to serve our customers and partners, working closely alongside Nutanix employees.”

Before joining Nutanix, Ramaswami served as Chief Operating Officer of Products and Cloud Services at VMware. Prior to this role, Ramaswami led VMware’s Networking and Security business, one of the fastest-growing units in the company, as Executive Vice President and General Manager.

Ramaswami earned his B. Tech in Electrical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and his Master’s Degree and PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

He is an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow and holds 36 patents, primarily in optical networking.

According to the company, Dheeraj Pandey will step down from the Board effective 14 December 2020 to ensure continuity through Nutanix's upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders.