Ahead Adds Former Google Cloud VP To Board To ‘Fuel’ AI, Hybrid Cloud

‘June [Yang’s] addition to our board will fuel Ahead’s ability to deliver game-changing hybrid cloud and AI services to our clients,’ says Ahead CEO Daniel Adamany.

Solution provider all-star Ahead has appointed former VMware and Google Cloud top executive June Yang (pictured) to its board of directors in a move to accelerate Ahead’s AI services and hybrid cloud strategy.

Yang is a seasoned cloud and AI expert who left Google Cloud this year as vice president of cloud AI and industry solutions. Yang was responsible for the entire portfolio of Google Cloud’s AI products and solutions, including Vertex AI, Contact Center AI, Document AI and industry solutions across retail, financial services, health care and more.

Ahead CEO Daniel Adamany said Yang’s expertise and “forward-thinking perspectives make her the ideal guide” to navigate Ahead’s AI strategy.

“June’s addition to our board will fuel Ahead’s ability to deliver game-changing hybrid cloud and AI services to our clients,” said Adamany in a statement.

[Related: 6 Big Google Cloud Exec Hires And Exits From AWS, Microsoft And CoreWeave]

Chicago-based Ahead is a top global partner of Amazon Web Services, Cisco Systems, VMware, Microsoft, ServiceNow and Dell Technologies.

New Board Member Yang: ‘Ahead Is A Proven Leader’

Prior to her last five years at Google Cloud, Yang spent more than 10 years at VMware in top engineering roles.

Her last role at VMware was vice president of product management and engineering, where she was responsible for VMware’s highly popular vSphere product. She also worked on growing VMware’s edge computing portfolio as well as ESXi, VMware Fusion and Workstation.

Yang said in a statement that she is looking forward to finding “innovative ways” to serve Ahead customers.

“Ahead is a proven leader in helping enterprises leverage hybrid cloud technology to achieve their business goals,” she said.

From 2001 to 2007, Yang was director of product management and marketing for Oracle, where she led an international team of product managers. Her IT career also includes stints at Accenture, Merck and Viant.

Yang currently serves on other tech companies’ boards, including NetApp and UiPath. Ahead won NetApp’s North America Cloud Partner of the Year award for 2024.

Ahead Making Big Moves In 2024

Ahead has been doubling down on its AI investments and geographic expansion in 2024.

In May, Ahead formed an integration partnership with AI cybersecurity company Wiz to offer customers an integrated solution to securing cloud environments.

Last month, the company launched a new delivery office in Hyderabad, India, with plans to hire over 500 employees in Hyderabad by the end of 2025.

For its biggest news of the year, Ahead acquired fellow solution provider giant CDI, resulting in a merged company with over $3.7 billion in revenue and over 2,500 employees across 40 locations worldwide.