After leaving Symantec Corp. (NYSE: SYMC) last fall after a long run with the security vendor, veteran Canadian IT executive Michael Murphy has resurfaced to take on a new challenge: area vice-president, sales and country manager for Canada with virtualization vendor Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS).
Murphy replaces David Wright as the top dog for Citrix in Canada. According to a statement from Citrix, Wright, a former CDN Top Newsmaker, officially retired from Citrix effective March 31st. Murphy will officially take on his new role at Citrix on April 16th.
A graduate of Carleton University in Ottawa with a degree in economics, Murphy began his career with the federal public service before joining Symantec as a systems engineer in 1995. He rose steadily through the ranks during a 16-year career with the security vendor, taking on the role of vice-president and general manager, Symantec Canada in 2005.
Murphy’s departure from Symantec last fall was sudden, and the circumstances surrounding it are still unclear. The vendor initially wavered on naming a permanent in-Canada country manager, having the position filled on an interim basis by a regional U.S. executive before appointing a newcomer, former Cisco Systems executive Sean Forkan, to replace Murphy in February.
Murphy was not available for comment. Citrix has recently launched a new push in the small and medium-sized business segment, and will hold its annual Summit user conference next month in San Francisco.
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