Paris, France – Tuesday September, 19th, 2023 – Infovista, the global leader in network lifecycle automation solutions, today announced a notable change in its leadership structure. The Board of Directors, led by private equity firm Seven2, has appointed Rick Hamilton as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective October 1st. José Duarte, the current CEO, has been named Executive Chairman.
José Duarte has been at the helm of Infovista since 2019, leading the company through a remarkable period of transformation and growth, both organic and inorganic. During his tenure, he has driven key strategy development for Infovista, including the implementation of a new strategy built around automation of networks, the acquisition and merge of Empirix, and the sale of Ipanema SD-WAN business. However, aligning with his professional and personal aspirations and in-line with the evolving business requirements, Duarte has decided to step down from the CEO role to transition to the position of Executive Chairman.
Rick Hamilton, who joined Infovista as Deputy CEO since May 2023, has been appointed as the new CEO. Hamilton is an experienced telecoms industry executive, with an extensive background in technology, operations and finance within and across the telecoms value chain. Most recently, Rick spent six years at BluePlanet, a division of Ciena, where he was the General Manager. Prior to this role, Hamilton held senior leadership positions at Juniper Networks and Cisco Systems.
José Duarte, Executive Chairman of Infovista, commented on the leadership transition: "Leading Infovista has been an incredible privilege, and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved as a team. As we embark on a new business cycle, it is the right time for Rick to take the reins as CEO. His customer-centric approach, extensive industry knowledge, and dedication to excellence make him the ideal leader to guide Infovista into the future. I look forward to supporting him in my new role as Executive Chairman."
Rick Hamilton, CEO of Infovista, expressed his enthusiasm for the new role: "I am honored to lead Infovista. José's visionary leadership has positioned us for long-term success, and I am committed to building on this solid foundation. Our focus remains on delivering innovative solutions to our customers, driving growth, and enhancing our market leadership."
About Rick Hamilton
Rick Hamilton, the newly appointed CEO of Infovista joined the company in May 2023 as Deputy CEO. Before joining Infovista, he was Senior Vice President of Blue Planet Software, a division of Ciena. Where he was responsible for the company’ software platform and global services organization. Prior to Blue Planet, Hamilton served as the Corporate Vice President, Professional Services, for Juniper Networks and completed a 11-year career at Cisco Systems, during which time he oversaw the growth of Cisco’s managed services business. Hamilton holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in software engineering from Golden Gate University.
About José Duarte
José Duarte has served as the CEO of Infovista since 2019. Before joining as CEO in January 2019, he served as an active Non-Executive Director at Infovista from October 2016. Previously, he was CEO of Infinitas Learning and CEO of Unit4. Before Unit4, Duarte was at SAP for approximately 20 years. He was the founder of SAP Portugal and evolved through the ranks, having served as President, Global Services and Corporate Officer, President EMEA and India and President Latin America. He started his career at Unilever Portugal and Accenture (previously Andersen Consulting). Mr. Duarte currently holds Non-Executive Director positions in ProAlpha, Expereo and SoftwareONE.
