NetApp CFO Noviello Departs, Company Shuffles Executive Reporting Structure

NetApp on Wednesday unveiled an executive reorganization that also included the loss of its chief financial officer.

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based storage vendor, which is in the process of acquiring all-flash storage array vendor SolidFire, said Nick Noviello, an eight-year NetApp veteran who has been the company's CFO for the past four years, has left the company to pursue another opportunity.

Jeffrey Bergmann, NetApp's vice president of corporate finance and a six-year company veteran, will take over the CFO role on an interim basis, the company said. Both internal and external candidates will be considered.

[Related: Q&A: NetApp CEO Kurian Talks About New Competitors, Tech's Transition And Industry Consolidation]

The departure of Noviello was a result of his decision to pursue a new, noncompetitive opportunity, a company spokesperson told CRN via email.

The spokesperson also emailed a statement from NetApp, which read: "We are grateful for Nick Noviello’s ongoing support of NetApp’s leadership, technology, global team and future. He has made many contributions to NetApp over the last eight years and we fully support Nick in continuing to achieve his personal career goals. In his new role as CFO, Jeff Bergmann will oversee the financial operations of NetApp as we continue to execute our strategy and build a stronger company that solves customer challenges and delivers earnings growth."

NetApp took advantage of Noviello's departure by flattening its corporate structure. Starting Wednesday, NetApp Chief Information Officer Cynthia Stoddard and Vice President of Investor Relations Kris Newton will report directly to CEO George Kurian. Stoddard and Newton previously reported to Noviello.

The departure of Noviello comes after a year of major changes in NetApp's executive team.

Rob Salmon, NetApp's president in charge of its go-to-market operations and a 20-year-plus veteran at the storage vendor, said in November that he plans to retire around the end of April of this year.

Julie Parrish, NetApp chief marketing officer and company veteran, left in September. Parrish last month became CMO of Check Point Software Technologies, San Carlos, Calif, and Tel Aviv.

Regina Kunkle in July resigned as NetApp's vice president of North American channel sales to join SAP, Walldorf, Germany, as that company's new vice president of state and local/higher education (SLED).

The highest-profile NetApp departure was that of CEO Tom Georgens, who in June was let go by the NetApp board. Georgens was replaced by George Kurian, the company's former executive vice president of product operations.

NetApp CTO Jay Kidd, a 10-year company veteran, retired this past summer, citing plans to finish his career at NetApp and follow personal interests.

NetApp in March lost its flash storage guru as Brian Pawlowski, the senior vice president and technical staff member at NetApp known there as "beepee," left in March to join rival all-flash storage vendor Pure Storage, Mountain View, Calif..

John Woodall, vice president of engineering at a Palo Alto, Calif.-based solution provider and longtime NetApp channel partner Integrated Archive Systems (IAS), said the latest shakeup and the earlier executive changes really show that NetApp CEO George Kurian is continuing to make the changes that he thinks will move the company forward.

"I'm not surprised to see any C-level executive changes at NetApp," Woodall told CRN. "I get the sense that this will be a year of a lot of changes as NetApp looks for ways to get more relevant. It's exciting. The changes are not a reflection on Nick, but are things that needed to change."

Given NetApp's big SolidFire acquisition and the long string of executive changes, the obvious next question about the vendor is what's next, Woodall said.

"I don't think NetApp is done with M&A [mergers and acquisitions], or product changes, or executive changes," he said. "And I think that's a good thing. If NetApp is doing the right things for the right reasons, they'll be rewarded. NetApp is getting more aggressive with product road maps and M&A."

PUBLISHED JAN. 6, 2016