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VMworld General Session Keynote Showcases Innovations to Help Companies Build, Run, Manage, Connect, and Protect Applications on Any Cloud, Any Device

Greg Lavender Appointed New VMware Chief Technology Officer; Ray O’Farrell to Oversee Modern Apps

VMware Welcomes World-Renowned Athletes Lindsey Vonn and Steve Young
to the Mainstage

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 27, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VMworld 2019 US -- Today at the VMworld 2019 general session keynote, VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) walked attendees through a series of product demonstrations to highlight how organizations can use VMware’s software architecture to build, run, manage, connect and protect any app, on any cloud and any device.

“The VMware innovation engine is thriving at VMware, and we saw it in action in today’s VMworld general session keynote as we demonstrated one new technology solution after another,” commented Ray O’Farrell, executive vice president, VMware. “With our organic innovation, recent acquisitions and commitment to emerging technologies, we are uniquely positioned to help our customers manage any application in any cloud, with seamless access from any device.”

Tuesday’s VMworld general session keynote featured a number of innovations, with segments including:

  • Build & Run Apps, with Velocity and Flexibility, At Scale: Provided a deeper dive with June Yang, vice president, product management and engineering, into VMware Tanzu – a portfolio of products and services that will transform the way enterprises build software on Kubernetes.
  • Connect & Protect: Showcased VMware’s security offerings with Marcos Hernandez, chief technologist, network and security, including VMware NSX and VMware AppDefense, and discussed the company’s plans to integrate Carbon Black’s cloud-native security platform into VMware security solutions, upon close of the acquisition.
  • Manage in a Consistent Fashion: Highlighted innovations from across VMware’s hybrid cloud portfolio with Purnima Padmanabhan, vice president, product management, that enable IT to build, run, and manage workloads on a consistent infrastructure across their data center, public cloud, or edge infrastructure of choice.
  • Optimize the Employee Experience: Unveiled new capabilities of VMware Workspace ONE with Shikha Mittal, director, product management and strategy, virtual workspace, to help organizations provide employees with a seamless experience as they access work apps from anywhere.
  • Looking to the Future: A review of emerging technologies with Greg Lavender, senior vice president and CTO, cloud architecture, focusing on AI, ML, hardware acceleration, cloud, edge computing, and IoT. Together with O’Farrell, the conversation also explored what a truly multi-cloud world could look like, where one could run apps and multi-cloud services without boundaries or limits.

Throughout the technology demonstrations, VMware spotlighted how organizations such as Domino’s, U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union, Zuora and Delta are using VMware solutions to tackle their toughest technology challenges when developing, running, securing, and delivering applications.

CEO Pat Gelsinger announced that Ray O’Farrell, VMware’s current Chief Technology Officer (CTO), will take on a new role to lead VMware’s modern apps strategy and business, as well as the integration of Pivotal, once the acquisition closes.

With O’Farrell’s new role, Greg Lavender, currently senior vice president and CTO, cloud architecture, has been appointed as VMware CTO. Lavender, who joined VMware in 2018, has more than 35 years of experience in software and hardware product engineering and advanced research and development in industry research labs and academia. Before joining VMware, he was managing director and CTO for cloud architecture and technology engineering at Citigroup. Prior to Citi, Lavender held engineering leadership positions at Cisco Systems and Sun Microsystems.

Also on stage today at VMworld, Sanjay Poonen hosted world-renowned athletes Lindsey Vonn and Steve Young to discuss their unrelenting work ethic, how they overcame obstacles, and what drives their passion.

Vonn, a recently retired Olympic gold and bronze medal-winning alpine ski racer for the U.S. Ski Team, is a New York Times best-selling author and founder of the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, established to empower young girls. Young built his fame as a record-setting professional quarterback, and is now an acclaimed motivational speaker and Founder and Chairman of the Forever Young Foundation (FYF), which is actively involved in children’s charities nationwide. Both athletes made a significant impact throughout their respective sporting careers and have transitioned to focus on how to empower others to do the same.

Additional Resources

News at VMworld

About VMware
VMware software powers the world’s complex digital infrastructure. The company’s cloud, networking and security, and digital workspace offerings provide a dynamic and efficient digital foundation to customers globally, aided by an extensive ecosystem of partners. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html.

VMware, VMworld, Tanzu, NSX, AppDefense, and Workspace ONE are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions.

Media Contact:
Alex Goldsmith
VMware Global Communications
agoldsmith@vmware.com
(310) 963-9869

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, among other things, statements regarding the proposed acquisition of Pivotal Software by VMware, such as the growth opportunities and expansion of VMware’s offerings associated with the acquisition and VMware leadership changes after close. These forward-looking statements are subject to applicable safe harbor provisions under federal securities laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (1) the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to closing the proposed acquisition (including the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals) in the anticipated timeframe or at all; (2) uncertainties as to the outcome of the vote by Pivotal stockholders to approve the Pivotal acquisition; (3) the possibility that the acquisition does not close; (4) the possibility that competing offers may be made; (5) risks related to the ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed acquisition, including the possibility that the expected benefits from the proposed acquisition will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period; (6) the risk that the business will not be integrated successfully; (7) disruption from the transactions making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; (8) negative effects of this announcement or the consummation of the proposed acquisition on the market price of VMware’s common stock, credit ratings and operating results; (9) the risk of litigation and regulatory actions related to the proposed acquisition; (10) other business effects, including the effects of industry, market, economic, political or regulatory conditions; and (11) other unexpected costs or delays in connection with the acquisition. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, are based on current expectations and are subject to uncertainties and changes in condition, significance, value and effect as well as other risks detailed in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including VMware’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K that we may file from time to time, which could cause actual results to vary from expectations. VMware assumes no obligation to, and does not currently intend to, update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.

Additional Information about the Pivotal Acquisition and Where to Find It
This communication may be deemed to be solicitation material in respect of the proposed merger with Pivotal (the “Pivotal Merger”). This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy VMware securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval. The proposed Pivotal Merger will be submitted to Pivotal’s stockholders for their consideration. In connection with the proposed transaction, Pivotal intends to file a proxy statement and other relevant materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) in connection with the solicitation of proxies by Pivotal, the Company and Dell Technologies in connection with the proposed transaction. The definitive proxy statement will be mailed to Pivotal’s stockholders.

BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION WITH RESPECT TO THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, INVESTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF PIVOTAL ARE URGED TO READ THE DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT REGARDING THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND OTHER RELEVANT MATERIALS CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION. The proxy statement, any amendments or supplements thereto and other relevant materials, and any other documents filed by Pivotal with the SEC, may be obtained once such documents are filed with the SEC free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

In addition, Pivotal’s stockholders may obtain free copies of the documents filed with the SEC through the Investors portion of Pivotal’s website at pivotal.io/investors or by contacting Pivotal’s Investor Relations Department via e-mail at ir@pivotal.io.

Pivotal, VMware, Dell Technologies Inc. and certain of their respective executive officers, directors, other members of management and employees, may under the rules of the SEC, be deemed to be “participants” in the solicitation of proxies from Pivotal’s stockholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding the persons who may be considered “participants” in the solicitation of proxies will be set forth in Pivotal’s preliminary and definitive proxy statements when filed with the SEC and other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction, each of which can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above when they become available. Information regarding certain of these persons and their beneficial ownership of Pivotal’s common stock is also set forth in Pivotal’s proxy statement for its 2019 annual meeting of stockholders filed on May 3, 2019 with the SEC, which may be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above.