Extreme Networks Strengthens Executive Leadership Team

Norman Rice Named Chief Commercial Officer; Streamlines Go-to-Market Team to Drive Long-Term Growth

Norman Rice, Chief Commercial Officer, Extreme Networks (Photo: Business Wire)

MORRISVILLE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Extreme Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXTR) today announced it has strengthened and realigned its executive team. Norman Rice has been elevated to the role of Chief Commercial Officer. In his new role, Rice will focus on driving revenue growth and leading the company’s sales, partner, services and supply chain organizations.

Rice joined the company in 2015 and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, he’s architected successful go-to-market sales motions including building the company’s stadium and venue business, orchestrating large opportunities with Verizon and Kroger, and managing the company through a complex macro supply chain environment.

Extreme’s Chief Revenue Officer Joe Vitalone has resigned from his position but will serve in an advisory role with the company to ensure a smooth transition.

“We’re at a pivotal time in Extreme’s history – successfully transitioning from a hardware-centric organization, to one that includes a thriving SaaS business. This requires us to streamline our leadership team to focus on capturing new revenue opportunities,” said Ed Meyercord, President and CEO of Extreme Networks. “Norman has a solid understanding of our business and excellent relationships with our customers, partners and direct sellers. He’s driven some of the largest opportunities in the company’s history and has operationalized new go-to-market motions that sets us up for long-term growth.”

Meyercord continued, “In the past year, we’ve heightened our focus on our rapidly growing SaaS revenue with the appointment of our Chief Product and Technology Officer Nabil Bukhari to GM of our subscription business. We’ve also deepened our bench of executive SaaS expertise with the recent additions of Chief Financial Officer Kevin Rhodes and Chief Marketing Officer Monica Kumar. The alignment of expertise is crucial to helping Extreme accelerate growth and capture more share. This leadership team will work in lockstep as we continue to take share in our core markets through our differentiated solutions, while driving growth from new commercial models.”

He concluded, “I’d like to thank Joe Vitalone. He joined the company during the middle of a pandemic and was instrumental in elevating our sales leadership and channel efforts. His contributions and leadership were crucial to our success. We wish him the best in his retirement.”

About Extreme Networks

Extreme Networks, Inc. (EXTR) is a leader in cloud networking focused on delivering services that connect devices, applications, and people in new ways. We push the boundaries of technology leveraging the powers of machine learning, artificial intelligence, analytics, and automation. 50,000 customers globally trust our end-to-end, cloud-driven networking solutions and rely on our top-rated services and support to accelerate their digital transformation efforts and deliver progress like never before. For more information, visit Extreme’s website at https://www.extremenetworks.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Extreme Networks and the Extreme Networks logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Extreme Networks, Inc. in the United States, and other countries. Other trademarks shown herein are the property of their respective owners.