Rick Jackson CMO, Rackspace

Rackspace Hosting announced that IT industry veteran Rick Jackson has joined the company as CMO.

He will lead global marketing strategy and execution as the company works to strengthen its leadership position around hybrid cloud.

 Jackson officially joined Rackspace on July 1 and today brings with him over 25 years of IT industry experience. Most recently, he served as CMO at VMware, where he was responsible for leading the company’s global marketing strategy since early 2009. Prior that, he has held chief marketing roles at Borland Software and San Jose-based BEA Systems. Jackson brings a combination of SMB and enterprise marketing skills to Rackspace including his knowledge of cloud computing, infrastructure software, application middleware and developer frameworks.

As an early advocate of hybrid cloud computing, Jackson shares Rackspace’s enthusiasm for open source-based cloud technologies and customer choice.

"It’s becoming increasingly clear that a hybrid cloud approach will lead architectural plans for the future of IT. While so many companies are offering up a one-size-fits-all approach, Rackspace is uniquely positioned to offer customers specific solutions that optimize their business objectives," said Jackson. "It’s a great honor to join a company so focused on its customers’ successes, combining technology leadership with fanatical support."

"We are thrilled to have Rick Jackson join the leadership team at Rackspace, given his background in cloud computing and personal understanding of the incredible potential of hybrid cloud," said Rackspace president Lew Moorman. "As we continue to leverage our heritage in OpenStack and capitalize upon our strong leadership position within the hybrid cloud marketplace, it is crucial that we continue to build our brand and reputation worldwide at a faster rate than ever. So we’re thrilled to have such a highly experienced and talented visionary on board to lead our global marketing efforts."