We had to make some tough decisions today. To postpone our NetApp INSIGHT events in Paris and Berlin that were scheduled for March 2020. NetApp INSIGHT events are something I look forward to: hosting our customers, our partners and our employees in venues where we come together to collaborate on data-driven innovation—in the public cloud and on-premise IT environments.

 

But, the health and safety of all INSIGHT attendees is absolutely a priority and we want to do our part to help minimize the spread of this highly contagious Coronavirus (COVID-19). Therefore, the events in Paris and Berlin are postponed.

 

This was not an easy call to make. These in-person conferences are exceptionally valuable for our community to spend time together sharing ideas and learnings on how to put the power of data to work. And, I acknowledge all the hard work from many people that has gone into event planning and developing content. However, postponing the events is the right decision.

 

Having said that, I will not let all this hard work go to waste. We are tapping into our innovative NetApp nature to design a cutting-edge, digital experience that will bring the content that we had planned for Paris and Berlin to audiences across EMEA in a digital format.

 

As we continue to refine our programs over the coming weeks, we will be posting updates on our INSIGHT EMEA plans at https://insight.netapp.com/emea.aspx

 

We appreciate your flexibility and support during this time. Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by  COVID-19.

James Whitemore

James Whitemore is the Chief Marketing Officer at NetApp. He is responsible for advancing the company’s global marketing strategy and strengthening market recognition to accelerate growth.

As a veteran of the cloud computing, networking and storage industry, James has more than 25 years of experience leading and implementing successful global sales, product management and marketing strategies. A key part of the team since joining NetApp via the SolidFire acquisition in early 2016, James has been central to the development and execution of our Marketing strategy to reposition NetApp from storage to data and the cloud.

In his previous role as VP of Field & Demand Marketing at NetApp, James built and led a modern demand engine as well as managed Field and Partner Marketing, Demand Centers, Global Campaigns, Event Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social, Influence and Community Marketing.

As CMO at SolidFire, James led the mission to advance the way the world uses cloud and was responsible for all corporate, product, and field marketing functions. Prior to SolidFire, James has led sales and marketing functions in cloud orientated start-up companies holding a variety of sales and marketing positions in Europe, Asia and the U.S. with SAVVIS, Sun Microsystems, IBM, StorageTek and Standard Telephones and Cables.

James holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Northumbria University in the UK.

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