Violin Memory fires CEO; Chairman filling in as interim leader
Violin Memory is playing a last minute game of musical chairs.
The short story is that the data storage company has fired its chief executive officer, replacing him with the company's Chairman of the Board of Directors in the meantime.
The previous CEO, Donald Basile, has been fired, effective immediately. Basile is being replaced temporarily by Howard A. Bain III, also effective immediately.
The decision was made by Violin's Board of Directors, and the committee is now on the search for a permanent CEO, already hiring an executive search firm to further the process along.
It has been suspected that Violin Memory's recent initial public offering, which didn't go as well as expected, is the primary reason behind the executive shuffle.
Violin Memory, itself, has not revealed publicly as to why Basile was specifically relieved of his duties.
David Walrod, chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of Violin's Board of Directors, commented diplomatically in a statement, assuring that Bain is the right person for the job during the search process:
"The Board believes this leadership change is necessary to enhance the management team's operational focus and ability to execute the Company's plans for profitable growth," Walrod added.
Violin has been betting on its software suite to grow market share. Back in September, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company rolled out a software suite and set of appliances designed to speed up legacy infrastructure.
But it will obviously need to step up the pace to grow its market share, admittedly citing tech giants such as IBM, Dell, EMC, Hitachi, HP 3Par, NetApp and Oracle as competitors in its IPO filings.