Who's In at InterSAN?

A search is underway to find a new CEO for SAN management software startup InterSAN Inc., Byte and Switch has learned.

Chris Melville, InterSAN's founder, president, and CEO, is expected to step aside and become chairman, according to sources familiar with the startup. Melville, reached via email, remains mum on the CEO search: "There is nothing to announce," he writes. "There have been no changes on the management team."

Prior to founding InterSAN in January 2000, Melville was director of enterprise software development at Auspex Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: ASPX) and before that was with Unix software vendor SCO Inc.

Sources say InterSAN's VCs want a CEO who will move the company into high gear -- and start bringing in some serious sales. Says one, "Melville is just not CEO material."

InterSAN has raised $28 million to date, most recently closing a $17.8 million third round in May 2002. Its investors include Alliance Ventures, Fidelity Ventures, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., SoundView Ventures, WorldView Technology Partners, and Kumar Malavalli, a founder of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: BRCD) (see InterSAN Lands $17.8M).One candidate who's already interviewed for the job, according to one source, is Mark Ward, a founder and the former CEO of GiantLoop Network Inc., a networking consulting services firm that focuses on business continuity planning. Ward did not respond to requests for comment.

InterSAN's software, Pathline, manages heterogeneous SAN environments. It has announced one customer for the latest version of the software -- Fidelity, which is also an investor in the company (see InterSAN Ships Pathline 2.5 and Fidelity Picks InterSAN).

Todd Spangler, US Editor, Byte and Switch