VMware has named Raghu Raghuram, the current chief operating officer of products and cloud services for VMware, as its new chief executive effective June 1. The virtualization company has been vetting CEO candidates since the departure of Pat Gelsinger in January.
VMware also revealed that Sanjay Poonen, currently the COO of customer operations, has decided to leave VMware after 7 years at the company.
The executive changes come as VMware and parent company Dell Technologies begin the process of splitting into two independent companies. The long rumored spin-off was formally announced by Dell Technologies in April.
As for the CEO appointment, VMware chairman and Dell CEO Micheal Dell said Raghuram is well positioned to “architect VMware’s future” in a multi-cloud world.
“I am thrilled to have Raghu step into the role of CEO at VMware,” said Dell. “Throughout his career, he has led with integrity and conviction, playing an instrumental role in the success of VMware.”
VMware also announced preliminary first quarter results for fiscal 2022. The company expects Q1 revenue to be $2.994 billion, an increase of 9.5% from the year ago quarter, with non-GAAP net income of $1.76 per share. Subscription, SaaS and license revenue is expected to have a combined total of $1.387 billion.
As for its split from Dell Technologies, the rationale behind the transaction is that it will give each company more strategic flexibility and improve capital structure efficiencies, while also maintaining VMware’s credit rating and improving Dell’s. Dell plans to use the VMware proceeds — estimated to come in between $9.3 billion and $9.7 billion — to pay down its debt.
