NetApp has overhauled its global sales leadership team to go after more cloud-led business for its storage and data management systems. President César Cernuda says he is instituting “both a customer- and partner-centric strategic and operational evolution” to deliver “hybrid cloud expertise” while addressing key markets and reaching new partners.
Cernuda said: “We will soon deliver a personalised, data-driven engagement model that allows our current and future customers to move at warp speed, aligning with the new way they want to engage with their solution partners.”
As part of the changes, Rick Scurfield, NetApp veteran and former SVP for globals, verticals and pathways, will serve in the company’s newly established role of chief commercial officer. Scurfield will be responsible for building a new GTM strategy, including direct sales and channel coverage.
Fellow NetApp veteran Alex Wallner (pictured), who most recently served as SVP for worldwide enterprise and commercial field operations, will take on the newly created role of SVP for international. He will lead the execution of all GTM activities for the EMEA, APAC and Latin America regions.
“Focusing on increasing the footprint of NetApp as the partner of choice for our international customers, Wallner and his team will help customers address their data challenges with hybrid multi-cloud solutions, including NetApp’s data centre architectures and cloud software portfolio,” said the vendor.
In addition, Max Long, former SVP and chief customer officer at Adobe, will be joining NetApp as the company’s new SVP for North America. He will lead direct sales, channel sales and demand generation teams.
Last year, NetApp further fleshed out its hybrid cloud services strategy with the acquisition of Talon Storage. Talon focuses on next generation software-defined storage solutions that enable global enterprises to centralise and consolidate IT storage infrastructure in public clouds.
With the combination of NetApp Cloud Volumes technology and Talon FAST software, enterprises can “seamlessly” centralise data in the cloud while still maintaining a consistent branch office experience, said NetApp.
