Brian Smith VP of Operations, Cobalt Iron

Cobalt Iron Inc., provider of cloud-based data protection, hired Brian Smith as VP of operations.

In this newly-created position, he will oversee internal day-to-day operations, including product support and deployment and the quote-to-cash process.

“We created this position to bring hands-on operational leadership to Cobalt Iron to support our continued growth,” said Mark Pougnet, CFO. “Brian’s passion and proven track record of leadership in high-growth, fast-paced environments will bring best practices to our operations and accelerate ‘as a service’ delivery of data protection to our customers.“

Smith has more than 15 years of experience with various software organizations. Before joining Cobalt Iron, he served as VP of client alignment at Netsmart. Prior to that, he served as the COO for Aptora and as VP of global sales support and senior director of global sales operations for Lexmark Enterprise Software. He had responsibility for numerous operational areas, including quote to cash, software licensing, support, and contracts.

He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with companies during periods of tremendous expansion. That’s the position Cobalt Iron is in today, and I’m excited to be part of the team that will help this company continue to thrive,” he said. “We’re nothing without satisfied customers, and keeping customers happy in the face of exponential growth starts with stable and effective business practices. That’s what I bring to the table, and I’m ready to join the team.”

Smith will report to Pougnet.