Veeam CEO shakeup: Co-founder in, McKay out
Veeam Software has reshuffled its executive team, promoting co-founder Andrei Baronov to CEO, while Peter McKay is no longer with the data protection company after 2 ½ years as an executive, including more than a year as co-CEO and president.
In addition to the Veeam CEO switch, co-founder Ratmir Timashev is now executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, and William Largent is executive vice president of operations. Both Timashev and Largent will report to Baronov, according to Veeam.
“That was Peter McKay’s decision, driven by a desire to pursue some other opportunities,” Timashev said Tuesday about his departure, shortly after Veeam announced the changes publicly. “It was a little bit of a surprise to me.”
McKay joined the company as COO and president in July 2016, following a stint in management at VMware. He had shared Veeam CEO duties with Baronov since May 2017.
As co-CEOs, McKay led Veeam’s “go-to-market,” finance and human resources functions, while Baronov oversaw research and development, as well as product management.
Timashev said he and Largent will split McKay’s work. Timashev will focus on sales and marketing, while Largent will work in finance, corporate governance and human resources.
Earlier this month, Veeam said the third quarter was its 41st consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Veeam previously reported $827 million in annual bookings revenue in 2017, an increase of 36% year over year. Veeam claims 320,000 customers and aims to become a billion-dollar company.
Ratmir Timashev
In September, Veeam said human error caused a database with 4.5 million unique email addresses to be accessible to third parties for two weeks. McKay apologized for the breach. Timashev said the issue has been resolved and McKay’s departure was not related to the breach.
Veeam was founded in 2006 as a virtual backup provider, but has since added physical and cloud protection, as well as data management capabilities. It has also expanded its customer base in taking on more enterprise customers.
“I’m very happy with the progress we’ve made,” especially on the enterprise front, Timashev said.
Timashev said he does not expect major changes in company strategy following the Veeam CEO shift.
On his LinkedIn page, McKay said he was honored to lead Veeam and influence its customers, partners and employees.
“As I enter the next phase of my career, I’m going to miss being a part of this exciting team, but I’m also looking forward to the next stage,” McKay wrote in a LinkedIn post Tuesday. “Oftentimes as we drive towards a goal, we can lose touch with those who are the most important in our lives. I’m looking forward to the chance to focus on some downtime to reenergize my body as well as spend quality time with my family and friends who have been patient with me over the years.”
Timashev was Veeam CEO from 2006 to 2016, when Largent replaced him. McKay and Baronov became co-CEOs a year later, when Largent moved into the role of chairman of the Finance and Compensation Committees.
Timashev remained active in Veeam after stepping down as CEO, most recently serving as senior vice president of marketing and corporate development.
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