Gluware Adds Eight Industry Leaders to its Executive Leadership Boards to Define a New Era in Automated Enterprise Networking

Gluware expands Board of Directors and Advisory Council to lead the industry in pioneering new use cases and delivering the full potential of next-gen intelligent network automation at scale

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Gluware, the leader in intelligent network automation, today announced the appointment of Michael J. Donahue and John Frazer to the Board of Directors and Joe Skorupa, William Barnes, Kevin Carney, Rajeev Khanolkar, Paul Melchiorre, and Brad Peters to the company's Advisory Council. Gluware, bolstered by insights from its growing slate of industry leaders, is accelerating efforts to educate enterprises and advance the adoption of network automation while furthering its vision for hyperautomation and self-operating networks.

"Gluware is committed to providing the leading intelligent network automation platform and applications that deliver unprecedented value for our customers. We have made a concerted effort to bring together the best and brightest leaders in the industry who align with our powerful vision for the future of enterprise networking," said Jeff Gray, CEO and Co-founder of Gluware. "Michael, John, Joe, William, Kevin, Rajeev, Paul, and Brad will work with Gluware and our strategic partners to optimize the potential that network automation brings to enterprises for innovation and scale. We are thrilled to welcome these industry luminaries to our Executive Leadership Boards."

Michael J. Donahue is currently a Board Director for WSFS Financial Corporation and served as a Board Director of Beneficial Corporation until the company's merger with WSFS. Previously, Donahue served as Global Chief Operating Officer of Consulting at KPMG, where he oversaw global technology for this $3.6 billion business. Donahue also led a global expansion program, completing 34 merger and acquisition transactions that added $1.1 billion of annual revenue. During his tenure, Donahue also served as Managing Partner, Technology Solutions, for KPMG's global consulting business. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors for KPMG LLP (US), KPMG Consulting KK (Japan), and as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of KPMG Consulting AG (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). Donahue led the IPO of KPMG Consulting, Inc., later renamed BearingPoint, Inc.

"The global pandemic certainly moved the dial on the adoption of network automation to meet the new and dynamic needs of businesses of every size. There are no signs of this trend slowing down," said Donahue, Board of Directors, Gluware. "Network automation drives growth and delivers value in every industry across the globe. The Gluware intelligent network automation platform delivers cost savings, risk reduction, and top-line growth. I am thrilled to work with Gluware as the company continues to expand and capitalize on the vast opportunities ahead."

John Frazer co-founded and managed Derivative Consulting Group hedge fund for 12 years. Prior to Derivative Consulting Group, Frazer spent eight years as a market maker on the floor of the Pacific Options Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Berkeley with a BS and an MS in Business and from Stanford University with an MS in Statistics.

"The innovations in the Gluware platform set the stage for the rapid advancement of enterprise network transformation, scalability, and performance," said Frazer, Board of Directors, Gluware. "The prospects for Gluware are bright - the company is well-positioned and well-capitalized as the center of gravity for the network automation market. I look forward to working with Jeff and team to set the vision for the future as they bring hyperautomation and self-operating network capabilities to all pockets of industry."

Joe Skorupa is a former Gartner Research VP/Distinguished Analyst with more than 40 years of experience in enterprise, service provider, and storage networking. During his tenure at Gartner, Joe defined and shaped the SASE market and carried out breakthrough research on CASCE, SD-WAN, SDN, and WAN optimization that resulted in three Gartner Thought Leader awards. A strategic advisor, Joe will serve as a Gluware thought leader and contribute a wealth of knowledge on the convergence of networking, security, and applications and the disruptive forces that shape those markets.

"The automated network is the platform for digital transformation. Network automation presents an area of incredible potential for enterprises in the digital era, and Gluware is well positioned to lead the charge," said Skorupa, Gluware Advisor. "I believe we're going to see spectacular possibilities as robotic process automation and autonomous networking capabilities become more mainstream. I'm pleased to work with a company so committed to customer success and to leading this market and technology to its full potential." 

William Barnes is a CISO Advisor at World Wide Technology. He served as a cybersecurity executive at Pfizer for over 20 years, most recently as the Deputy CISO and Senior Director, Network Services and Cybersecurity Analytics. Barnes currently serves as the Vice Chief of Staff at U.S. Marine Forces Cyberspace Command. He also serves as an adjunct instructor of computer science at Connecticut College. In 2017, Barnes established the Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) cybersecurity analytics development working group, which he chaired through 2022, to promote a community-based approach for detecting cybersecurity threats. His background and experience will be invaluable as Gluware continues expanding its cybersecurity capabilities portfolio.

"Gluware's intelligent network automation portfolio delivers massive value to customers. I chose to work with Gluware due to the caliber of the company's leadership and engineering teams, its community-based approach to continuously enhancing services, and the breadth and depth of its advanced automation solutions. No one else comes close," said Barnes, Gluware Advisor. "Gluware continues to make incredible strides in innovation and continuously brings together the best minds in the industry to drive business and technology advancements."

Kevin Carney worked in enterprise networking for over 40 years. He was the former Principal Consultant and Network Architect at MasterCard, where he redesigned MasterCard's production and corporate networks. He is a long-standing supporter of automation to simplify network administration and reduce manual errors. Carney has been a featured speaker at various industry events and served on numerous customer advisory boards. He has deep technical expertise and brings a wealth of operational insights.

"I look forward to working alongside Gluware's talented and forward-looking leaders," said Carney, Gluware Advisor. "Gluware has the portfolio and customer success teams to support every enterprise's network automation strategy. Together, we can help companies demystify their large-scale network automation implementations to achieve business outcomes quickly."

Rajeev Khanolkar has served as President and CEO of SecurView for over 15 years. SecurView is a full-service security solutions company delivering security within the cloud and mobility space. SecurView has a global presence and extensive network security domain expertise, offering solutions for leading security technology companies like Cisco Systems, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and more. Khanolkar also served as the Founder and President of Netcom Systems.

"Network automation is a mission-critical technology for improving security and mitigating risks. Business models are evolving and transforming faster than ever, and network performance and reliability are foundational to progress," said Khanolkar, Gluware Advisor. "Gluware has given customers the ability to ensure network performance, reliability, and agility while reducing risks and maintaining a strong security posture. I look forward to working with Gluware and the wider advisory team as we take automated enterprise networking to new levels."

Paul Melchiorre is an Operating Partner at Stripes and serves as Chairman of the Board at R3. Melchiorre is also a board member at Legion Technology, a board member at Paradox, and a board observer at Dataiku. Throughout his career, Melchiorre has focused on assessing and advising SaaS portfolio companies on go-to-market strategies. Previously, he served as President and Chief Revenue Officer at Anaplan, a leading SaaS platform to facilitate financial planning and management. He contributed to its successful IPO in 2018 and saw the company grow from $80 million to over $300 million in Annual Recurring Revenue and a greater than $7 billion market capitalization. Melchiorre brings unique perspectives that will support Gluware's mission to accelerate network automation adoption.

"It is an exciting time to join the Gluware Advisory Council. The destination is clear; automation is essential for enterprise networks and the future of the enterprise," said Melchiorre, Gluware Advisor. "The proven potential of intelligent automation to scale and transform business models and operations will only continue. Enterprises will rely on automation as the best way to keep pace with business demands and as an essential part in go-to-market strategies for the foreseeable future."

Brad Peters is the current CEO of Scoop Analytics, a business application company designed to monitor, track, and visualize data across an organization. In 2005, Peters founded and served as CEO of Birst, which focused on high-end machine-learning-based analytical applications within the financial services sector. He served in this role until Birst was acquired by Infor, where he then transitioned to Senior Vice President and General Manager of Analytics and Business Intelligence. Peters continued to run the large, high-growth, fully multi-tenant SaaS business while managing the core BI, Analytics, and AI product families at Infor until 2019. Before Infor and Birst, Peters served as Senior Director of Analytics at Oracle, where he managed Siebel Systems, which is now Oracle's BI platform. 

"Gluware continues to be at the forefront of network automation. Gluware Network RPA delivers powerful self-operating functionality and capabilities that are new to the industry and meet customers' needs," said Peters, Gluware Advisor. "AI technology and AI-powered data and insights will deliver a new level of value and capabilities. I look forward to working with Gluware during this exciting next chapter as the company looks to take AI-powered network automation to new heights."

Gluware's continued growth is a testament to its ease of use and ability to deliver rapid time to value by accelerating the adoption of strategic network automation efforts. Gluware has made several notable executive and advisory appointments in the last year to advance the development of innovations that deliver on the strategic network automation needs of industry-leading global enterprises.

For more information on Gluware and the Gluware Intelligent Network Automation suite, please visit www.gluware.com.

Gluware is the leading intelligent network automation suite for the cloud era, trusted by Global 2000 enterprises, across industries, from Pharma to Finance. Gluware automates the networks of the world's largest and most complex enterprises by simplifying how multi-domain, multi-vendor enterprise networks are discovered, analyzed, and maintained. The company's code-free, intent-based approach to network automation reduces the business risk of unplanned outages and downtime while elevating the performance of people and systems. For more information, please visit www.gluware.com.

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SOURCE Gluware