Extreme Networks Names New CEO
"Oscar joins Extreme Networks with exactly the right technology marketing and leadership experience," said Gordon Stitt, chairman of Extreme's board of directors and an Extreme co-founder, in a statement. "We need someone with his background and relationships to help us explore new avenues to accelerate growth for Extreme Networks."
According to a statement from Extreme, Bob L. Corey, Extreme's CFO and acting president and CEO, will stay on as CFO.
Extreme has been without a permanent CEO since October, when a reorganization eliminated 9 percent of its worldwide workforce and its then-CEO, Mark Canepa, resigned. Corey, who became Extreme's senior vice president and CFO after several years on the company's board of directors, has been acting CEO since then.
Rodriguez currently heads Movius Interactive, a private company focused on messaging, collaboration and mobile media for service providers, and has been its CEO since 2007. Before Movius, he was chief marketing officer for the enterprise business group at Alcatel-Lucent, and president and CEO of Riverstone Networks, which was later sold to Lucent Technologies. He was also a previous president of Nortel Networks' enterprise solutions and intelligent internet divisions.
"In recent months, Extreme Networks has streamlined the organization and reignited the aggressive, competitive passion that made the company a leader in its space," Rodriguez said in a statement. "The company has a highly motivated executive team and its product line-up has never been stronger. I am eager to get to work and begin exploring new areas for growth."
Rodriguez and Extreme executives were not available for additional comment Tuesday.
Extreme has stabilized following a rough 2009 that saw its financial position slip, stymied by supply chain constraints and a management structure some VARs suggested had become flabby.
During Extreme's October 2009 partner conference, Stitt addressed Extreme solution providers and promised a better 2010 with a new execution strategy. Last fall, Stitt said in an interview with CRN that Extreme would seek to align its products and channel programs around data center solutions that use more efficient, more scaleable physical infrastructure and fewer network tiers, and many of Extreme's 2010 product releases have reflected that strategy.
This past spring, Extreme began a targeted recruitment program through which the company, along with distributor Tech Data's Advanced Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) division, is hand-picking solution providers suited to Extreme's data center goals and fast-tracking their entry into higher tiers of Extreme's channel program.
The company's financial picture has also improved. Earlier this week, Extreme, for the quarter ended June 27, reported earnings in line with expectations, including $3.4 million in profits (up from $900,000 in profits a year ago), and revenues of $85.5 million, up from $81.3 million a year ago. Product revenue in North America increased 17 percent during the quarter, to $28 million, and total net revenue in North America was $36.3 million.