Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR), the industry leader in network
innovation, today announced that it has appointed two new experienced
independent directors, Jim Dolce and Rahul Merchant, to its board of
directors, effective March 1, 2015.
Mr. Dolce currently serves as chief executive officer of Lookout, a
mobile security company, and has founded four successful technology
companies. With deep networking industry expertise – including serving
as executive vice president of worldwide field operations at Juniper
Networks from 2000-2006 – Mr. Dolce currently serves on the board of
Infinera Corporation.
Mr. Merchant currently runs his own advisory firm and has served as
chief information officer at a variety of enterprises in the public and
private sectors and brings 30 years of experience in management,
operations and information technology. Mr. Merchant currently serves on
the boards of Emulex Corp. and Fair Isaac Co.
Juniper’s board of directors regularly evaluates its composition to
ensure the directors’ skills, experience and perspectives are best
suited to address the requirements of Juniper’s operating environment.
Mr. Dolce and Mr. Merchant were identified through a search process
initiated last year by the board’s Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee, which included an evaluation of candidates recommended by
Elliott Management, Juniper’s largest shareholder. Both Mr. Dolce and
Mr. Merchant will be among the Company’s nominees for election at its
2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Scott Kriens, chairman of the board at Juniper Networks, said, “On
behalf of the entire board of directors, I would like to welcome Jim and
Rahul. They are both highly accomplished individuals whose depth of
experience and industry knowledge will be extremely valuable to Juniper.”
Rami Rahim, chief executive officer at Juniper Networks, said, “Juniper
has been successfully executing on our strategic plan in 2014 and we
entered 2015 with good momentum as well as a compelling product roadmap
that positions the Company for continued growth. I look forward to
working with Jim, Rahul and the rest of the board as we continue to make
progress toward driving profitable revenue growth while enhancing value
for all shareholders. We remain committed to execution and operational
excellence and enabling real competitive advantage for our customers in
the fastest-growing market segments.”
Juniper also announced today a new agreement with Elliott Management,
whereby Elliott has agreed to support Juniper’s director nominees at its
upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Jesse Cohn, head of U.S. equity activism at Elliott Management, stated,
“Juniper has a clear, well-defined strategy against which it has made
impressive progress over the past year. We’re pleased with the board’s
decision to appoint Jim and Rahul, who will assist Juniper in continuing
that progress. With a solid revenue plan, a leaner cost base and a
reduced share count, we believe Juniper is well positioned to deliver
outsized returns to its shareholders.”
About Jim Dolce
Jim Dolce is the chief executive officer and a director at Lookout,
Inc., a mobile security company, since March 2014. Mr. Dolce has been
the founder of four successful technology companies and has held senior
executive positions at both Juniper Networks, Inc. and Akamai
Technologies, Inc. Prior to joining Lookout, Mr. Dolce was the vice
president of carrier market development at Akamai and prior to that, he
was the founder and chief executive officer at Verivue, Inc., which was
acquired by Akamai. Prior to Verivue, Mr. Dolce served as executive vice
president of worldwide field operations at Juniper Networks from July
2002 to April 2006, where he led Juniper's global sales, marketing and
customer service efforts. Mr. Dolce joined Juniper through its
acquisition of Unisphere Networks, Inc., where he served as chief
executive officer from April 1999 to July 2002. Mr. Dolce also serves on
the board of directors of Infinera Corporation, and is a Trustee of
several nonprofit organizations. Mr. Dolce holds a bachelor’s degree in
computer engineering from the University of Rhode Island.
About Rahul Merchant
Rahul Merchant is a seasoned executive with a demonstrated track record
as a transformation leader. He runs his own advisory firm since 2014. He
was the chief information and innovation officer for the City of New
York from March 2012 to February 2014. Previously, he served as
executive vice president, chief information officer and member of the
Executive Committee at Fannie Mae, where he led the technology and
operations groups. Mr. Merchant also served as senior vice president and
chief information officer at Merrill Lynch & Co. He has extensive
computer industry and public board experience as a current director of
Emulex Corp. (ELX), Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) and privately held
AASKI Technology. He is a former director of Sierra Atlantic, Level 3
Communications, Inc. and Sun Microsystems. Mr. Merchant earned a
bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Bombay University, a
master’s in computer science from Memphis State University and an MBA
from Temple University.
About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) delivers innovation across routing,
switching and security. From the network core down to consumer devices,
Juniper Networks’ innovations in software, silicon and systems transform
the experience and economics of networking. Additional information can
be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net)
or connect with Juniper on Twitter
and Facebook.
Juniper Networks and Junos are registered trademarks of Juniper
Networks, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The Juniper
Networks logo and the Junos logo are trademarks of Juniper Networks,
Inc. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, or
registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.
Statements in this press release concerning Juniper Networks' prospects,
future products and prospective benefits to customers are
forward-looking statements that involve a number of uncertainties and
risks. Actual results or events could differ materially from those
anticipated in those forward-looking statements as a result of certain
factors, including delays in scheduled product availability, the
company's failure to accurately predict emerging technological trends,
and other factors listed in Juniper Networks' most recent report on Form
10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements
made in this press release are made only as of the date of this press
release. Juniper Networks undertakes no obligation to update the
information in this release in the event facts or circumstances
subsequently change after the date of this press release.
Copyright Business Wire 2015