San Jose, California, USA June 2025 — NetApp, a global leader in intelligent data infrastructure, has appointed Syam Nair as its new Chief Product Officer, marking a significant step forward in its journey to empower businesses through hybrid cloud and AI-driven innovation. In his new role, Syam will lead the global product and engineering teams, driving NetApp’s mission to unlock agility, performance, and growth for its customers worldwide.
With more than 25 years of distinguished leadership across the tech industry, Syam brings a unique blend of deep technical expertise, product strategy, and innovation leadership. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer and EVP of R&D at Zscaler, where he played a key role in expanding the company’s product innovation across cloud security solutions.
Prior to Zscaler, Syam held several executive roles at Salesforce, including Executive Vice President overseeing engineering and product for Tableau, Salesforce Data Cloud, AI (Einstein), Automation (Flow), and Marketing Cloud. He was instrumental in scaling these products, aligning them with Salesforce’s broader vision of a connected customer data ecosystem. His leadership spanned globally distributed engineering teams and cloud infrastructure across mission-critical platforms.
Earlier in his career, Syam spent over a decade at Microsoft, where he led product efforts for Azure DocumentDB (now Cosmos DB) and contributed to the evolution of SQL Server into a modern cloud-first service. He also held leadership positions at Bocada, Citadel Inc., and Aditi Technologies, where he developed core capabilities in enterprise security, data platforms, and systems engineering.
Syam’s career has been defined by his ability to scale innovation within complex, fast-moving environments. As NetApp accelerates its transformation into a leading AI and cloud-first data infrastructure company, his strategic insight is expected to play a defining role in shaping product direction, enhancing developer experience, and delivering high-impact solutions for customers.
Beyond his corporate contributions, Syam has served on several boards, including Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Riley Children’s Foundation, 500 Festival, TechPoint, and Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, reflecting his commitment to community and mentorship in tech leadership.
Syam holds a Master of Business Administration in Strategy & Leadership from the Indiana University – Kelley School of Business, a Master’s degree in Computer Science & Applications Engineering from Goa University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Naval Science and Operational Studies from the Naval Academy – Indian Navy. He is also an alumnus of Sanik School Kazhakootam.
NetApp
NetApp is the intelligent data infrastructure company, helping organizations accelerate their digital transformation with seamless data management across on-prem, hybrid, and multicloud environments. With a focus on AI readiness, cloud optimization, and unified storage, NetApp serves as a trusted innovation partner to the world’s leading enterprises. Its solutions empower businesses to manage data across any application, any location, and any scale—driving performance, flexibility, and cost efficiency in an increasingly complex digital world.
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