Nutanix Hires Former Nexenta CEO To Build ‘Hybrid Cloud Powerhouse’

The former CEO of Nexenta Systems as well as Wyse Technology, Tarkan Maner, says he plans to make Nutanix into the leader in enterprise cloud computing as the company’s new chief commercial officer.

Hyper-converged infrastructure pioneer Nutanix has hired former Nexenta CEO Tarkan Maner as its new chief commercial officer in a move to help build Nutanix into a hybrid cloud leader.

“Tarkan brings an entrepreneurial mindset and an acute awareness of the computing landscape to lead Nutanix in its second decade,” said Nutanix CEO and founder Dheeraj Pandey. “His authentic leadership style, a clear bias for action, and a broad industry network have helped him create high-energy companies, as I’ve observed him from afar. Given his deep sense of commitment to company-building, I look forward to this new partnership to build Nutanix into a hybrid cloud powerhouse.”

Maner previously served as chairman and CEO for Nexenta Systems, one of the groundbreaking developers of software-defined storage technology. Nexenta was acquired this year by DataDirect Networks (DDN), which develops high-performance storage for modern workloads.

Prior to Nexenta, Maner was also president and CEO of virtual desktop computing pioneer Wyse Technology, which was acquired by Dell in 2012.

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Maner said he plans to “accelerate Nutanix’s position” as a leader in enterprise cloud computing. “Nutanix has accomplished so much over the past ten years, but there’s so much potential to go even further,” he said in a statement. “I am excited to charge ahead and play a critical role in helping realize Nutanix’s vision of making computing invisible, anywhere.”

Maner will lead Nutanix’s global business development and corporate development efforts with a focus on strategic partnerships, system integrators and service providers.

His responsibilities include leading Nutanix’s hybrid cloud strategy and product teams such as its core visualization platform (AHV) and software-defined networking. He will also lead some of Nutanix’s key hybrid cloud services including Xi Frame for end-user computing, Xi Leap for disaster recovery services, Era for database-as-a-service, and the Xi Partner Network.

Maner brings over 25 years of executive experience to Nutanix including top roles for IBM, CA Technologies and currently serves as a board member of various companies including CloudCheckr and Teradici.

Maner will take over many of the tasks previously held by Sunil Potti, Nutanix’s former chief product and development officer, who left this year to join Google Cloud.