Manny Rivelo.
Manny Rivelo.

F5 Networks today named Manuel Rivelo as its new CEO and president. Rivelo will take over on July 1 for longtime boss John McAdam, who will remain with the Seattle company as chairman of the board.

Rivelo joined F5 in 2011 after 19 years with Cisco. For the past four years, he’s been responsible for the company’s strategic development, product management, and global marketing strategy as Executive Vice President of Strategic Solutions. He will also join F5’s board on July 1.

“This is an exciting time to be at F5, and I look forward to working with the company’s executive staff and the rest of the F5 team to extend our leadership, expand our addressable market, and build on the company’s long history of success,” Rivelo said in a statement.

McAdam, meanwhile, announced his decision to retire in October. The Scotland native joined F5 as CEO in 2000 and has helped it grow from a 500-person company doing $100 million in yearly revenue to an industry leader with nearly 4,000 employees and annual revenues of more than $1.7 billion.

“My time as CEO has been very rewarding both professionally and personally, and I want to thank all the F5 employees, past and present, who have contributed to making F5 an industry leader and a great place to grow your career,” McAdam said in a statement.

F5 CEO John McAdam in the KIRO Radio studios (Erynn Rose photo).
F5 CEO John McAdam in the KIRO Radio studios (Erynn Rose photo).

F5 certainly has come a long way since McAdam’s arrival. Shortly after his appointment, the dot-com bust hit, nearly wiping out F5.

“We were in survival mode,” McAdam said last year, recalling that the cash position had dwindled to about $30 million.

But F5 prevailed, and the company, which develops software and hardware products designed to securely delivery applications over the Internet, now has a market cap of $8.6 billion.

Last month, McAdam joined Seattle venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group as a strategic director. McAdam also serves on the board of Apptio, a Bellevue-based enterprise software company bankrolled by Madrona.

Al Higginson, who was F5’s Board Chairman since 2004, will remain on the board as Lead Independent Director.

F5 posted its fiscal first quarter results today, beating Wall Street’s expectations for both revenue ($472 million) and profit ($1.59 per diluted share). Shares of F5 are down nearly 3 percent in after-hours trading.

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