NetApp Taps AI and Sales Veteran Paul Fipps for Board of Directors

SAN JOSE, CA – January 12, 2026 – In a strategic move underscoring its commitment to leadership in the era of artificial intelligence, intelligent data infrastructure company NetApp today announced the appointment of Paul Fipps to its Board of Directors. Fipps, the current President of Global Customer Operations at ServiceNow, brings a wealth of experience in driving technology-led growth and customer-centric transformation, strengthening NetApp's board as it guides the company through a period of intense innovation.

The appointment expands the board to ten directors, nine of whom are independent. It also highlights a significant trend in the company's governance, with half of its board members having been appointed within the last five years, signaling a deliberate focus on incorporating fresh, relevant expertise to navigate the rapidly evolving tech landscape.

A Strategic Play for the AI Era

Fipps’s appointment is far more than a routine change in governance; it is a clear indicator of NetApp's strategic priorities. Company leadership emphasized his background as being instrumental to their core mission. “Paul’s proven ability to align sales execution, customer success, and partner ecosystems will be instrumental as we help customers build intelligent data infrastructure to power their most critical workloads,” said George Kurian, Chief Executive Officer at NetApp. Kurian highlighted Fipps's “customer-first mindset and operational rigor” as key assets that will “strengthen execution and accelerate innovation, positioning NetApp as the trusted leader for AI-ready data.”

This move directly supports NetApp's aggressive push into the AI infrastructure market, a sector that IDC projects will reach $250 billion annually by 2026. NetApp has centered its strategy on providing an “intelligent data infrastructure” built upon its flagship ONTAP data management software. The company argues that many AI projects falter not because of flawed algorithms, but because their underlying data is not properly prepared. NetApp aims to solve this by embedding intelligence directly into the storage layer, making data “AI-ready” by addressing complex challenges related to accessibility, security, and integration.

Recent product developments, such as the NetApp AI Data Engine (AIDE), underscore this focus. AIDE is designed to streamline and secure AI data pipelines from end to end. It offers capabilities for data discovery, curation, and the creation of vector embeddings—a critical component for generative AI applications using Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG). This technology, combined with a disaggregated storage architecture known as AFX, allows customers to scale performance and capacity independently, a crucial requirement for the demanding and often unpredictable nature of AI workloads.

From Connected Fitness to Enterprise AI

Paul Fipps brings a uniquely diverse background to the NetApp board, with a career that spans consumer-facing digital experiences and large-scale enterprise software operations. Before his successful tenure at ServiceNow, Fipps served as President of Under Armour Connected Fitness and Chief Experience Officer. In that role, he was at the forefront of the consumer Internet of Things (IoT) wave, overseeing the brand's global direct-to-consumer and digital experiences.

His work at Under Armour involved pioneering the integration of physical and digital products, a prime example being the embedding of sensors in running shoes that connected to the MapMyRun application. This system utilized machine learning to provide runners with real-time coaching, demonstrating an early and practical application of AI to enhance customer experience. This experience in leveraging data from millions of users to deliver personalized, valuable outcomes provides a unique perspective on the end-goal of digital transformation.

At ServiceNow, Fipps has been instrumental in scaling the company’s massive growth engine. As President of Global Customer Operations, he leads worldwide sales, customer success, and partner ecosystems. He has been a key figure in empowering organizations to extract value from the ServiceNow AI Platform, which integrates AI directly into workflows to automate tasks and surface critical insights. His leadership, shaped by his service in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and a philosophy of “mission first, team second, self third,” has been pivotal in driving customer adoption and success at a global scale.

Evolving Governance for a New Tech Landscape

Fipps's appointment is the latest development in a broader evolution of NetApp's board. The fact that 50% of its directors have been appointed in the last five years, coupled with a high degree of independence, points to a proactive governance strategy. This refreshment is critical for established technology firms aiming to maintain agility and avoid complacency in a sector defined by disruption.

Mike Nevens, NetApp's Board Chair, noted this strategic fit, stating, “Paul uniquely brings both strategic insight and operational excellence, bolstering the Board’s ability to guide NetApp through its next phase of growth.” Nevens specifically called out Fipps’s “proven experience integrating and deploying AI solutions” as critical to the company’s success.

This focus on bringing in directors with specialized, contemporary skills reflects a wider industry trend. As AI transitions from a theoretical concept to a core business driver, boards require members who not only understand the technology but also have hands-on experience in its deployment and monetization. Fipps’s background in building AI-powered customer solutions and driving enterprise-wide adoption fits this mold perfectly.

In his own statement, Fipps acknowledged the pivotal moment for the industry. “I’m honored to join NetApp’s Board at such a pivotal moment, as data is the foundation for innovation in the AI era,” he said. “NetApp has a clear and trusted leadership position in helping customers harness data for AI and digital transformation.”

With this appointment, NetApp sends a strong message to the market, its customers, and its investors. The company is not just participating in the AI revolution; it is actively shaping its leadership team to guide the charge, ensuring that its governance is as intelligent and forward-looking as the data infrastructure it provides.