Nutanix Selects New Chairman, Replacing Dheeraj Pandey

Here’s what you need to know about Nutanix selecting Virginia Gambale as its new chairman of the board.

Nutanix has a new chairman of the board in longtime technology adviser and investor Virginia Gambale, replacing former chairman and CEO Dheeraj Pandey.

Gambale has served on public company boards for more than 20 years across a variety of industries – from JetBlue Airways and hair salon chain Regis Corp. to financial services provider Virtu Financial and Knoa Software – while currently being a managing partner for IT advisory firm Azimuth Partners LLC.

The selection of Gambale as Nutanix’s new chairman is aimed at accelerating the San Jose, Calif.-based company’s mission to become a global leader in hybrid cloud and multi-cloud software, said Nutanix President and CEO Rajiv Ramaswami. Gambale initially joined Nutanix’s board last year. She has now dropped her previous roles as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee, as well as a member of Nutanix’s audit committee, to become the new chairman of the board.

“Virginia’s insights, dedication, commitment and advice have contributed meaningfully to Nutanix, and we are eager to benefit from her continued leadership in this expanded role,” Ramaswami said in a statement. “In addition to bringing a deep knowledge of our business, market landscape and technology from her experience as a prior CIO, Virginia has extensive board experience advising technology companies, and her thoughtful and structured approach to governance will help advance our leadership in hybrid multi-cloud, as well as help drive growth, profitability and value creation for our shareholders.”

[Related: Nutanix’s Ramaswami On VMware’s New CEO, HPE And Partner Vision]

Gambale is a top-notch technology advisor and investor with expertise in financial and IT businesses services. She is currently managing partner of Azimuth Partners, which is a strategic advisory firm focused on the use of disruptive technologies to assist mid-market and large corporations in their growth.

Gambale said in a statement that she believes “deeply” in Nutanix’s strategy, technology and people, and is “excited” to further cement the company’s leadership position in cloud software.

“Nutanix has made impressive progress in becoming a subscription software and cloud platform company, and I’m excited to continue working with Rajiv and the rest of the Board to build on our strong foundation and drive sustainable value for all of Nutanix’s stakeholders,” said Gambale. “Together, we are advancing our mission of delighting customers with a simple, open, hybrid multicloud software platform with a vision to simplify the complexity of IT so that customers can focus on their business outcomes.”

Gambale is taking over the chairman position from Nutanix’s former longtime CEO and chairman Dheeraj Pandey, who officially left the company earlier this year. Ramaswami, a former top executive at VMware, became CEO of Nutanix in December 2020.

Prior to founding Azimuth Partners in 2003, Gambale held senior management positions at investment banks including general partner at Deutsche Bank Capital and ABS Ventures. Her previous experiences also include being CIO of Bankers Trust Alex Brown, and the Director of Investment Banking Technology at Merrill Lynch.

Last month, Nutanix reported its third fiscal quarter 2021 financial earning results, which ended April 30.

The company generated total revenue of $345 million, up 8 percent year over year. Sales in annual contract value (ACV) billings climbed to $160 million in the third quarter, representing an 18 percent increase year over year. Nutanix posted a net loss of $123 million for the quarter, significantly less than Nutanix’s net loss of $240 million in third quarter 2020.

Nutanix’s stock is currently trading at $39.18 per share as of Thursday morning.