Scality hires ex-Cisco chief marketeer

After quite a lengthy search, Scality has appointed ex-Cisco man Syed Hoda as its chief marketing officer.

The object storage startup has got itself a Cisco veteran who left in 2013 to join ParStream as its CMO, only for that IoT Big Data analytics firm to get bought by Cisco in October. Before that Hoda had been with Cisco in various roles for 13 years. Perhaps Lightning will strike twice in the same place for Scality.

Hoda wrote a Huffington Post article in August this year which stated: "CMOs of the future will need to have demonstrated both marketing leadership and business leadership," because "lines continue to blur between marketing and sales, marketing and product management, marketing and corporate strategy, marketing and IT."

He reckons "CMOs will serve a broader and deeper role in connecting Engineering and Product Development with customers/markets by acting more like a Chief Customer Officer."

We think he's an ambitious guy, writing as he does: "The expanded scope of a CMO's role is the only position within a company that comes anywhere close to the breadth and depth of a CEO's role." Watch out; this guy's after a CEO slot. But then the only way he's going to get one is by helping Scality be successful, as in IPO or be acquired.

So welcome to Scality and the object storage ways, Syed Yoda Hoda. May the marketing force be with you. ®