Delphix CEO Chris Cook is retiring after three and half years in the post, with founder and executive chairman Jedidiah Yueh taking on the role.
Delphix’s software virtualizes structured (database) and unstructured data, making it easier to manage and provide copies for developers, etc. It says it provides DataOps for DevOps and other purposes.
The firm was started up in 2008 and has taken in $124m in funding, with the last round bringing in $75m in 2015.
Cook was appointed in April 2016, replacing Yueh, who was then President and CEO. He is an experienced business operations leader and hired to grow Delphix’ business and revenues, with an IPO as a possible outcome.
Delphix said it established a seasoned executive team and a world-class board under Cook’s leadership, increased product release velocity, and helped drive industry awareness and adoption for DataOps. Customers include roughly one-third of all Fortune 50 companies and three of the top five global banks.
Yueh takes over immediately and Cook retires at the end of the year. Board member Asheem Chandna of Greylock Partners said that under Cook’s leadership Delphix has “scaled to a late-stage private company with several hundred enterprise customers and strong subscription revenues.
“As Jed steps back into the role of CEO, we are confident that his strong vision and product and business acumen will help propel Delphix to expanded market leadership and the next levels of company growth and scale.”
Delphix faces strong competition from startups such as Cohesity and Actifio. Hitachi Vantara and Oracle are also plugging their DataOps capabilities. Delphix is called a late-stage startup but it is pushing to establish an early-stage technology idea, going by Gartner’s hype cycle positioning.
It’s almost as if Yueh has to take the company back to an earlier stage in its development and grow it all over again. Perhaps he needs to increase customer numbers as well as income from large enterprises.