CTO in, CMO out at NetApp

Julie Parrish leaves marketing role with immediate effect

NetApp has given its top flight of management a makeover as its chief marketing officer Julie Parrish heads for the exit and a new CTO comes on board.

Parrish (pictured) has been in the top marketing role for almost three years, but will leave immediately, NetApp said in a statement, describing the decision as "mutual". Americas field marketing chief Brian Bakstran will be interim CMO as the firm hunts for a new one.

"We have the utmost confidence in Brian's ability to lead global marketing, given his deep knowledge of NetApp and support from a strong executive team," a representative said in a statement. "We want to thank Julie, who has held significant leadership roles during her tenure at the company, both in channel sales and also in global marketing."

In recent years, NetApp's traditionally mild-mannered approach to marketing has changed, with it appearing more open to talking itself up and squaring up to rivals.
In the summer, NetApp announced George Kurian as its new CEO, and today's exec shuffle appears to be among the first big changes to the company made on his watch.

NetApp's new CTO Mark Bregman joins from machine-learning company SkywriterRX.

NetApp's executive vice president of product operations Joel Reich said: "Mark will work with NetApp's Advanced Technology Group anticipating and capitalising on new and emerging trends.

"His wealth of experience across technology sectors will be invaluable to accelerating NetApp's innovation leadership. We look forward to Mark helping to deliver outstanding value to our customers and partners, now and into the future."