Joe Cowan president, DDN

DataDirect Networks, Inc. (DDN) announced that veteran technology executive Joseph L. Cowan has been named president of the company, reporting to CEO Alex Bouzari effective immediately.

In his role, Cowan will assume full operational management of the company, allowing Bouzari to focus on refining and enhancing the company strategy.

 Cowan brings a proven track record in executive management to DDN, as well as significant experience repositioning private and publicly owned companies for sustainable growth. He has served on DDN’s board of directors since 2011 and most recently, held the position of president and CEO of Online Resources Corporation, a leading provider of online financial services which was acquired in January 2013 by ACI Worldwide. Prior to that role, he served as CEO and a member of the board of directors of Interwoven Inc., a provider of content management software, from April 2007 until its acquisition by Autonomy, Inc. in March 2009. He also has held executive leadership roles at Manugistics Group, Inc., EXE Technologies, Inc. and Invensys Automation & Information Systems, among others.

At DDN, Cowan’s responsibilities will include driving accelerated revenue and profit growth in the global big data and cloud infrastructure marketplace, as well as leading and aligning the company’s worldwide corporate strategy to meet its overall business objectives and enhance its competitiveness.

Cowan received a BS degree from Auburn University and an MS degree from Arizona State University.

Bouzari commented: "In his new role as president, Joe will be responsible for delivering against our revenue goals, accelerating top-line growth and improving global alignment across the company. We’re delighted to welcome him to DDN’s executive management team and believe his results-oriented approach, experience and strategic thinking will play a pivotal role in driving our global competitiveness and profitability."

Cowan said: "I am very excited to assume this new role and greatly appreciate the recognition from Alex and our board of directors. This position will more effectively align our business worldwide and advance DDN technology innovation, while enabling us to take full advantage of the robust market opportunity in front of us. I look forward to helping restore revenue predictability to the business and leading DDN through its next phase of growth."