Network monitoring and optimisation vendor Riverbed has appointed Rich McBee (pictured) as its president and CEO, shortly after McBee left unified communications player Mitel where he held the same two roles.
Mitel appointed Mary McDowell as a replacement for McBee. Most recently, McDowell was CEO and board member at Polycom, before it was acquired by Plantronics last year.
McBee departed Mitel after leading the company through a period of strategic transformation, including driving Mitel’s industry consolidation strategy, completing a dozen strategic transactions. During his eight-year tenure as CEO, Mitel evolved from an on-premise-based PBX company to a cloud-based UC and collaboration vendor.
“Rich is a strong leader and strategist and has a solid track record of driving business execution and results,” said David Murphy, Riverbed chairman and senior operating partner at private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo, which owns Mitel. “Riverbed has experienced strong performance recently and Rich is the right leader to continue our upward momentum, as well as bring the passion and dedication to operational excellence that he is well known for in the industry,” added Murphy.
Murphy said Mitel was focusing on growing business in “digital networking and digital experience management”.
“Riverbed has a well-respected brand, a history of innovation and a strong customer installed base that is well-earned,” said McBee. “Its current technology portfolio and strategy opens up significant market opportunities, as organisations worldwide are looking to capitalise on their digital transformation investments and enhance the digital experience of their users.
“I’m looking forward to working with our experienced team to accelerate our execution and drive great outcomes for Riverbed, as well as for our partners and customers.”
Prior to Mitel, McBee served as president of the Communications and Enterprise Group of Danaher Corporation. In this role, he was responsible for annual sales derived from carrier, enterprise and SMB markets via both direct sales and channel partners. McBee joined Danaher in 2007 when they acquired Tektronix Communications, where he had worked since 1998 in a variety of leadership positions.
