Juniper Software Boss Muglia Latest Top Exec To Depart
"We can confirm that Bob Muglia is leaving Juniper Networks effective Tuesday, December 10," a Juniper spokesperson told CRN in an emailed statement. "We thank Bob for his contributions to Juniper and wish him well in his future endeavors."
Muglia's departure comes less than a month after Juniper appointed Shaygan Kheradpir, former CTO and CIO of telecommunications giant Verizon Communications, as its new CEO effective Jan. 1, 2014. Kheradpir will replace current Juniper CEO Kevin Johnson, who in July announced plans to retire.
[Related: Juniper Networks Down Another Top Channel Exec ]
Juniper said Johnson will step in as acting general manager of the software division through the end of the month. Johnson will then transition the organization over to Kheradpir when he starts on Jan. 1.
"We will be relentlessly focused on our customers through this transition," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Muglia joined Juniper from Microsoft, where he spent 23 years in a number of leadership positions -- most recently president of Microsoft's $15 billion Server and Tools Business -- before being ousted in a management shakeup by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer in 2011.
During his two years at Juniper, Muglia reported directly to Johnson, a fellow Microsoft alumnus.
As the head of Juniper's Software Solutions division -- which saw revenue climb 6 percent year-over-year in Juniper's fiscal third quarter -- Muglia had a heavy hand in the development of Juniper's burgeoning software-defined networking (SDN) strategy. In May, Muglia oversaw the initial launch Juniper's Contrail SDN controller, the cornerstone of its overall SDN strategy, at the Interop event in Las Vegas.
Muglia's departure comes as other top talent flees Juniper. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company confirmed to CRN Wednesday the exit of Hojin Kim, vice president, Americas partner development and operations. Earlier this month, CRN also reported the departure of Donna Grothjan, vice president of worldwide distribution for Juniper, who is taking a top distribution role at HP.
In November, Juniper lost U.S. channel chief Chris Jones to rival Avaya, and in October, Juniper's Senior Vice President, Worldwide Partners Emilio Umeoka was confirmed to leave amid a reorganization of Juniper's channel organization.
Juniper in its third quarter, ended Sept. 30, reported a net income of $99.1 million, up sharply from $16.8 million compared to the year-ago quarter. Juniper's revenue for the quarter came in at $1.19 billion, up 6 percent from $1.1 billion compared to the same quarter last year.
Juniper's enterprise business, however, pulled in third-quarter revenue of $397.3 million, down from $413 million in the year-ago quarter. The company's service provider business rose from $705 million in the year-ago quarter to $788 million.
PUBLISHED DEC. 11, 2013