Former Barracuda Networks CTO Key to Advancing Nitel’s Technology Roadmap in Support of Its Customer Success Model
CHICAGO – March 4, 2024— Nitel, a leading network-as-a-service provider, announced today the appointment of Fleming Shi as Chief Technology Officer to further enhance Nitel’s ability to deliver customer-centric networking solutions. With more than two decades of broad industry, product and technology experience in enterprise applications, e-commerce, networking, and cybersecurity, Shi becomes the first CTO Nitel has ever appointed.
“The position of chief technology officer carries a lot of responsibility and demands in today’s networking world as we help channel partners and customers achieve business success,” said Margi Shaw, Nitel’s chief executive officer. “Fleming brings a great understanding of the crossroads of enterprise digital transformation and the role of the network as well as the application of new technological innovations such as AI that will pay off significantly for Nitel going forward.”
According to Shaw, the newly created role will be responsible for innovating technology solutions that enhance Nitel’s ability to intelligently connect people and data as well as driving cutting edge software solutions that use generative AI to improve business connectivity, secure environments, and predict issues before they can impact a business. Shi will also be responsible for internal technology initiatives that strengthen the company’s managed service capabilities and improve the customer experience.
“It is my desire and goal to put Nitel on the cutting edge of the next wave of how networks are deployed and managed by using large language models, predictive analytics, generative AI and machine learning,” Shi said. “I am very pleased to take on this role as I know I can bring a lot of value to delivering on Nitel’s strategy of offering products and services that truly support customer success. As the deployment of NaaS proliferates, and a greater need to provide digital applications and assets to support it emerges, we can make a significant difference.”
For two decades, Fleming was a key leader at Barracuda Networks, where helping it become a premier provider in the networking, security and data protection spaces. There, he most recently served as Chief Technology Officer, where he was responsible for leading Barracuda’s innovation engine to deliver transformative product offerings to customers around the world. In this role, he drove multiple engineering projects from product inception to high revenue growth. He joined Barracuda initially to launch the company’s first web security product line and spearheaded engineering efforts across its security portfolio to its successful IPO (NYSE: CUDA) in 2013. Before Barracuda Networks, Fleming served as a senior leader in engineering teams at Velosel and Ebrary. During the early 2000s, he co-founded eHit.com, a successful online video rental store he managed as chief technology officer. Fleming has accumulated many patents related to network and content security and serves on the advisory boards for several emerging technology companies in the cybersecurity space.
According to Shaw, this appointment is a continuation of the company’s growth strategy that started in late 2021 when Cinven, an international private equity firm, made a significant investment in Nitel. “We continue to support our vision with strategic leadership hires,” she said. “We’ve added to the management team in critical areas, especially in support of global growth aspirations. Fleming is another key hire in this new pivotal role for us as we work to improve every aspect of our operations to support our vision.”