Bernadette Nixon Named Chief Executive Officer; Founder Lingping Gao Becomes Chair of the Board
Gus Malezis and Jerry Guo Join NetBrain Board
NetBrain Technologies, Inc., a leading AI NetOps platform for hybrid network observability, announced the closing of the previously announced majority investment by funds managed by Blackstone Growth (“Blackstone”) in the company. The investment is focused on accelerating the company’s global expansion and advancing its AI‑powered network automation platform.
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Bernadette Nixon Named Chief Executive Officer; Founder Lingping Gao Becomes Chair of the Board
Alongside the completed transaction, NetBrain is also announcing several leadership updates supporting its next phase of growth.
Bernadette Nixon has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of NetBrain and will join the company’s Board of Directors. Founder Lingping Gao will transition from CEO to Chair of the Board, following two decades of visionary leadership and innovation. Lastly, Gus Malezis, executive strategic advisor and Chairman, IRIS Software Group and Jerry Guo, Founder, former CEO and Chairman of Casa Systems, Inc., will join the company’s Board of Directors.
Nixon brings an extensive track record of driving growth and innovation across global enterprise software companies and mission‑critical infrastructure markets. Most recently, as CEO of Algolia, she led the company through rapid scaling and global expansion. Prior to Algolia, she served as CEO of Alfresco and held senior executive roles at SDL plc, OpenText, and CA Inc., among other roles. Her experience will be instrumental as AI becomes increasingly central to modern network operations and automation.
“NetBrain is redefining how enterprises run their networks using AI and automation to help prevent outages, strengthen resilience, and improve security,” said Nixon. “Following Lingping as CEO of NetBrain is an honor. His passion and innovation have made NetBrain a category leader in network automation, and I look forward to working with our exceptional team to build on this strong foundation.”
Gao added: “Building NetBrain from concept to category leader has been the journey of a lifetime. What we have achieved would not have been possible without the dedication of our world-class team and the trust of our customers around the globe. Bernadette’s experience and vision make her the ideal leader to guide NetBrain into its next era as we advance the future of intelligent network automation.”
Blackstone’s investment in NetBrain reflects its commitment to supporting market-leading and category-defining technology companies that address enterprise challenges. The investment is intended to support accelerated innovation, expansion into new global markets, and scaling NetBrain’s platform to meet rising demand for intelligent, intent-based automation.
“Lingping is a visionary founder who has built an exceptional business, and we are excited to continue working with him in his new role as Chair. We believe Bernadette has the experience and strategic leadership skills to support the next phase of NetBrain’s growth journey and that the company is exceptionally well positioned as AI reshapes network operations,” said Vishal Amin, Senior Managing Director at Blackstone.
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