VMware has poached the chief information officer of Juniper Networks after its own CIO Tony Scott took a job with US president Barack Obama.
Bask Iyer will head up the virtualisation company’s global information and technology department, having previously worked on IT for healthcare firms Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as manufacturers Honeywell.
"I am thrilled to lead information technology for VMware and join the team that helps VMware meet the needs of more than 500,000 customers worldwide," he said, adding that he was "excited by the opportunity to showcase VMware’s suite of exceptional products as a central component of VMware’s own IT solution".
Iyer will begin work on March 23, where he will face increased competition in software defined networking (SDN) as VMware faces pressure from both Juniper and Cisco Systems to gain an upper hand in the market.
Despite his impressive CV some may note his predecessor Scott had an even greater pedigree, having worked as CIO for Microsoft and Disney before joining VMware in 2013 and moving on to the US federal government earlier this February.
Jonathan Chadwick, CFO at VMware, said: "Bask has extensive experience as a strategic and operational leader. He will play a pivotal role in leading VMware and helping our customers as we deliver the reality of the software defined enterprise."