Storage Exec Merry-Go-Round

Storage networking is a busy world, where companies, people, and products shift with the winds of demand. So it's no surprise to see storage supplier executives disappear from their posts one moment and pop up in new places the next.

In the blink of an eye, Larry Cormier, late of CommVault and failed startup Scentric, has turned up as VP of marketing at LeftHand Networks. Cormier's been there a couple of weeks, but the company will announce it later this month. Existing VP of marketing John Fanelli apparently wants to relocate for personal reasons.

At Agami, rumors of ongoing executive changes turn out to be at least partly true: Michael McGuire has replaced John Wernke as VP of worldwide sales, and Wernke has moved on. VP of marketing Paul Speciale plans to leave the company to pursue other opportunities, a spokesperson says, and the company is searching for a replacement.

Symantec announced in an SEC filing yesterday that Kris Hagerman, group president of the Data Center Management group, has left the company (no reason stated). His place has been taken on an interim basis by Gregory S. Butterfield, whose regular job as head of Symantec's Altiris unit remains in effect.

Ex-EMC marketer Tom Joyce is now the CEO of neo-SRM startup Akorri. He was the former VP of marketing for same, but the board's decided he'd be better off leading the charge through the next growth phase. Company founder Rich Corley, the former CEO, has opted to become its CTO.In yet another shift of leadership, Kathleen Holmgren, a former Sun storage exec, has taken the CEO spot at Mendocino, while Steve Colman becomes chairman. In his public statement, Colman cites the need to move forward as an impetus for the change.

These changes are just the tip of an iceberg. There are many more changes not only recent but underway, and more are likely to come as a rising number of companies merge and go public in the storage space.

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