Violin Memory has named Kevin A. DeNuccio as CEO after a seven-week search to replace Donald Basile, who was fired in mid-December.
The flash memory arrays manufacturer pushed Basile out as its stock price plummeted following its IPO in September and the announcement of poor quarterly results.
Board chairman Howard A. Bain III took over as interim CEO following Basile's departure. Bain, who will remain as chairman, praised DeNuccio's business transformation experience in a statement released Monday. He highlighted his skills in developing relationships with clients and sales channels, in cultivating talent and in rapidly scaling operations.
DeNuccio will also join Violin's board. He also has a seat on the board of his former employer, IP networking vendor MetaSwitch Networks, of which he was CEO from February 2010 to June 2012. He left that company to found angel investment fund Wild West Capital with Richard Nottenburg, a former CEO of Sonus Networks.
His previous experience includes a stint as CEO of edge router vendor Redback Networks and, prior to that, as senior vice president of worldwide service provider field operations of Cisco Systems.
DeNuccio will have his work cut out turning around Violin's fortunes. Following Basile's departure a number of other executives jumped ship, including COO Dixon R. Doll Jr. in January, leaving a void at the top.
The company's stock price is still languishing around US$3.78, a long way from September's $9 IPO price. Its fiscal year ended Jan. 31, so it is soon due to file its fourth-quarter and full-year results. In its third fiscal quarter, ending Oct. 31, it reported a net loss of $34.1 million on revenue of $28.3 million, compared to a net loss of $25.4 million on revenue of $20.6 million a year earlier.
Peter Sayer covers open source software, European intellectual property legislation and general technology breaking news for IDG News Service. Send comments and news tips to Peter at peter_sayer@idg.com.
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