Extreme Networks has appointed Monica Kumar as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Kumar has over 20 years of experience in B2B marketing, and has delivered accelerated growth through compelling product differentiation and impactful go-to-market strategies that generate revenue. Kumar will lead Extreme's global marketing organisation, reporting to President and CEO Ed Meyercord.
Kumar has deep industry and technical knowledge of enterprise cloud computing and a proven track record of simplifying complex portfolios of products and solutions. As CMO, she will contribute to further enhancing Extreme's brand and value proposition through unique go-to-market strategies and will further expand market approaches with strategic partnerships.
Perfect combination
"Monica is the perfect combination of a technically and business savvy marketing leader. She has a talent for driving impactful initiatives that drive acquisition and revenue growth," said Extreme CEO Ed Meyercord. "Extreme has a highly differentiated solution offering; we have shaken up the status quo of the networking industry and we are gaining market share. Monica's track record in transforming hardware companies into successful SaaS companies with recurring revenues will be instrumental in further expanding our leadership position in cloud networking."
Product simplification
Prior to her appointment at Extreme, Kumar was CMO of Hitachi Vantara, where she successfully drove the product simplification strategy. The portfolio of data storage products was brought together into one easy-to-use, scalable and resilient platform. She also played a key role in launching a new Hitachi brand strategy and new story to drive awareness, acquisition and long-term growth.
Transitioning organisations
Kumar was also SVP Marketing and Cloud go-to-market at Nutanix and spent over 20 years in various marketing roles at Oracle. At both Nutanix and Oracle, Kumar played a key role in transitioning both organisations from traditional hardware companies to thriving businesses focused on software subscriptions.
Kumar is an active board member for UPWARD Women and City Year San Jose, Silicon Valley, and co-founder of the Neythri Futures Fund, whose mission is to increase diversity in the venture capital ecosystem.
"Extreme has made its mark in the industry by reducing complexity with an innovative, flexible and simple approach that allows customers to deploy and manage their networks through the cloud," said Kumar. "I am thrilled to come on board at a time when we are continuing to improve our story, brand and market leadership position. That starts with customer focus and a vibrant ecosystem of partners. I look forward to making an impact as part of Extreme's incredible team of customers, partners and people-focused leaders."
