Sanjay Mirchandani President and CEO, Commvault

Commvault Systems, Inc. appointed Sanjay Mirchandani as president and CEO and member of the board, effective immediately.

Mirchandani, previously the CEO of Puppet, an Oregon-based IT automation company, replaces retiring president and CEO Bob Hammer. This later has led the company for more than two decades, growing it to a $3.1 billion market cap.

Also announced was the appointment of Nick Adamo as COB, replacing Hammer who will remain on the board as chairman emeritus; both changes will become effective April 18, 2019.

The appointment of Mirchandani concludes an executive search initiated as part of a transformation initiative to drive sustained business performance and accelerate Commvault’s growth.

He has held senior leadership positions at VMware, EMC and Microsoft and has expertise in the transformation of IT. At Puppet, he grew the user base of Puppet’s open source and commercial solutions to more than 40,000, including 75% of the Fortune 100.

“Sanjay’s accomplishments at Puppet demonstrate a deep understanding of multi-cloud and cloud native applications,” said Commvault’s incoming chairman, Nick Adamo. “We are confident he is the ideal person to build on Commvault’s current momentum and champion the rich heritage of combining innovation with unwavering focus on customer and partner success.”

Mirchandani also brings an international business experience through his diverse, well-rounded background in technology having held senior global positions over his career. He also grew Puppet’s presence and partnerships across the globe and opened five new offices in Seattle, Singapore, Sydney, Timisoara and Tokyo.

“I’m honored to join the Commvault team with its respected reputation, industry-leading technology and services, and infectious company culture,” he said. “Commvault’s partner-driven approach is closely aligned with my own. I look forward to being an advocate for our customer, channel and partner ecosystems to deliver complete solutions.”

Alan G. Bunte, who has served alongside Hammer for more than two decades, is stepping down from his role as COO while maintaining his position as a member of the board of directors.

Both of them will remain with the company through a transitionary period, with Hammer stepping away from the transition effective March 31, 2019.

“Bob and Al have contributed to Commvault in immeasurable ways. The Board is looking forward to the future under Sanjay’s leadership,” said Commvault board member Martha Bejar. “Sanjay has a well-deserved global reputation and has consistently risen to the top in previous organizations.”