Seven Years at #VMware: A Journey of Innovation and Transformation

After 7 transformative years at VMware, I’m embarking on a new journey.? Andrea Bocelli's "Time to Say Goodbye" comes to mind — a song about farewells and carrying cherished memories into new adventures. That sentiment resonates deeply with me today.

I am stepping away from a place that has been more than just a workplace—it has been a community, a catalyst for growth, and a stage for significant industry contributions. The experience far exceeded my expectations, professionally and personally.

Bocelli sang, “it’s not just about leaving. It’s about taking all the good stuff with you as you set off on new adventures.” And trust me, I’m packing a lot of good stuff.

So, what’s in my suitcase? Let’s unpack a few highlights.

From Virtualization to Cloud-Native Leadership

Over the past seven years, VMware has evolved from a virtualization-centric company to a leader in cloud-native application platforms. Developing Tanzu, a platform that integrated Kubernetes, containers, devops tooling, and AI/ML technologies, was central to this transformation. Today, VMware stands as a comprehensive platform that supports the entire application lifecycle, from development to deployment, across on-premises and multi-cloud environments. This shift not only redefined VMware but also positioned it at the forefront of the industry and was recognized as a leader by Gartner, Forrester, and GigaOm.?

Small Beginnings to Grand Achievements

My journey at VMware began with a small, ambitious group (including Paul Fazzone Kit Colbert Paul Dul Wendy Cartee Ben Corrie Fabio Rapposelli Anuj Kumar Steve Tegeler )with a crazy idea: make VMware a big player in the container and app management market. I was the first Technical Product Manager hired to launch vSphere Integrated Containers, VMware’s initial venture into open-source docker container management. This project later blossomed into a robust business unit of 3,000 employees. Our job: build the Tanzu Platform.

Key Milestones and Impressive Growth

Some of my boldest strategic thinking and vibrant marketing surfaced during this time. The Modern Apps Business Unit, now known as Tanzu, expanded significantly through internal product development and strategic acquisitions. VMware Tanzu acquired Wavefront, a high-performance streaming analytics platform for monitoring and observability; Heptio, a leader in Kubernetes solutions; and Pivotal and Bitnami, which bolstered VMware’s cloud-native offerings.?

We collaborated with Joe Beda and Craig McLuckie , lead creators of Kubernetes. Working with these industry pioneers was a highlight of this journey. With Richard Seroter and James Watters ’ help, we integrated Pivotal Cloud Foundry into the Tanzu platform, further solidifying VMware’s leadership in the cloud-native space.

Marketing Innovations: Connecting with Our Audience

Leading Tanzu’s marketing efforts inspired me to innovate and adapt. Lucky for me, many talented people wanted to join me ( including Keith Lee , Kenny Coleman Myles Gray Corey Dinkens Boskey Savla Tom Schwaller Arslan Abbasi ?? Ben Wilcock Nick Kuhn Art Fewell Dani Barkelew Kevin Brady Samuel Wang Francis Guillier Scott Rogers Eric Railine Ed Grigson Michael Poore Aaron Torgerson Ryan Baker Carlos Boyd Ivan Tarin Justin Stanton TJ March Yogita Patil Peg Eaton ). My team grew rapidly and became a united force, we launched more than 20 products, devised tailored market strategies, and managed diverse sales motions, from product-led growth to traditional enterprise sales. We also created lots of content, including thought leadership articles, ebooks, web pages, demo videos, labs, and collateral for events and campaigns. Developers, IT operations, DevOps, and open-source communities found our "cookie crumbs" and followed us.

?? ? We pioneered new ways to engage with customers. "Tanzu Live" technical enablement webinar became VMware’s second most-watched series. "Tanzu Tech Zone" became one of the fastest-growing external websites for technical content at VMware with >5.000 monthly active users at its peak and 20.000 monthly views, a 4x increase in traffic within a year. Today, we have 3.000 employees and 7.000 customers on the site. The " What’s New" newsletter and the "Tanzu Podcast" became go-to resources for thousands of customers and employees.?

?? ?? We embraced AI early on. We created the very first “Tanzu Bot” that helped us discover new product features hidden inside the documentation or answer analyst and sales inquiries. These initial experiments became product features like TAS AI and the Backstage AI plugin.?

?? ?? Customer feedback solidified and further drove our success. Comments like, “This is what I’ve had to verbally walk through with customers, and you have summed it up beautifully with graphics,” and “This video explains more in a few minutes than some do in an hour” reflect the impact of our work.

Looking Ahead

As I move forward, I carry with me the lessons, memories, and relationships built over these years. Working with devoted talent has been a privilege. You’re my colleagues, friends, and mentors and I carry your lessons and memories with me.?

I thank my team, the broader marketing team (Anu Srinivasa Danielle Burrow Betty Junod Dan Baskette Brooke Leslie Natalia Blank Scott Buchanan Dormain Drewitz Megan Bruce John D'Avolio Marie (. David Overbeek Grant Shipley Bryan Friedman Eva Leong Stela Udovicic Kamala Dasika Brian Cox Jared Ruckle Ken Werneburg Andy Morris Michael Coté Darin Zook Kevin Strohmeyer ), PMs ( Valentina Alaria Oren Penso Eddie Dinel Eryn Muetzel Brad B. Chris McClanahan Graham Siener John Dwyer Serdar Badem Karthik Narayan Pooja Patel Timothy Carr ), SEs ( Raghvender Arni Ryan Conley Vinod D'Souza Jaime Gonzalez Aguilar Dave Roberts Antonio Gallego Adam Fournier Derek B. Corby Page Jeff Arcuri Nathan Ness Charles Saroka ) Engineering ( Khaled Sedky Andrew Hurst Brad Meiseles Alain Roy Rahul Srivastava Clint Kitson Gaetano Borgione ) Sales ( Roger Egan Paula Hodgins Anthony Barkley Kelli Robinson ), Support ( Megan Bigelow Christopher Little ), Customer Success ( Roz Gregory Aruna Srinivasan , the executives ( Purnima Padmanabhan Ajay Patel Chad Sakac Paul Turner ) and many others wonderful colleagues I worked with along the way ( Jamie Temple , Joel "Thor" Neeb Vittorio Viarengo Mark Chuang ).

It goes without saying that all the people I tagged helped me acquire new skills, enhance my existing ones, discard outdated habits, and forge enduring relationships. While this chapter ends, please stay connected and may our paths cross again.

To close, I’d like to draw inspiration from Vasco Rossi, one of Italy’s most iconic rock artists I grew up listening to. In his song “Vivere” (Living), Rossi captures the essence of moving forward with both strength and sentiment: ‘Vivere, è passato tanto tempo, vivere, è un ricordo senza tempo’—living is about moving forward, carrying timeless memories with us.

As I say goodbye to VMware, I take these unforgettable moments with me, knowing they will fuel my next adventure and remain part of who I am.