Hitachi Vantara Deepens Industrial IoT and Services Bench with New Executive Appointments

Company Doubles Down on the Internet of Things, Software and Services; Taps Former GE Digital COO Brad Surak for Chief Product and Strategy Officer and Former IBM Watson Data Platform VP John Murphy to Lead Offerings Management

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hitachi Vantara, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. (TSE:6501), today announced the appointments of two new executives to support the company's industrial internet of things (IoT) and services portfolios. Brad Surak has been named chief product and strategy officer (CPSO), overseeing the development of Hitachi Vantara's solutions portfolio; John Murphy has been tapped to advance its services portfolio as vice president, offerings management. The news comes close on the heels of the company's unveiling at Hitachi's inaugural NEXT user conference, where it launched a fully enhanced Lumada IoT platform, together with other new offerings, including its Hitachi IoT Appliance, Hitachi Enterprise Cloud and Hitachi Smart Data Center, among others.

Brad Surak joins Hitachi Vantara from GE Digital, where he most recently served as the company's chief operating officer. Prior to that, he served as GE Digital's first chief product officer, where he was responsible for GE's global IoT solutions and digital industrial product portfolio. Before joining GE, Surak served as the general manager of Mobile Analytic Applications and was the chief operating officer of the Business Analytics Solutions unit at SAP. He has also held executive positions at Business Objects, Cambridge Technology Partners, and Ernst & Young. In his new role as CPSO at Hitachi Vantara, Surak will be responsible for driving the company's product and technology road map to bring intelligent innovations to market that deliver exceptional value and outcomes for Hitachi's customers and partners.

"Hitachi's exceptional breadth and depth of operational and information technology expertise sets it apart from other players in the digital solutions and industrial IoT markets and gives it a unique advantage," Surak said. "I'm immensely pleased to be joining the Hitachi Vantara team to drive a comprehensive product strategy that addresses our customer's greatest business challenges from edge to core to outcomes."

John Murphy joins Hitachi Vantara from IBM, where he most recently led product development and product management for the IBM Watson Data Platform. During his tenure, he also held key leadership roles in its data analytics and enterprise content management businesses. Prior to IBM, Murphy held leadership roles in a number of software organizations, ranging from startups to large enterprises across diverse industries, including banking, entertainment, consulting and high tech. Reporting to Hitachi Vantara's Chief Solutions and Services Officer Bobby Soni, Murphy will lead unified offerings management for the company, supporting development of its digital solutions and services portfolio and business strategy.