Exceptional
1QVzHES
1QVzHES
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Up, up<br />
and away<br />
Andreas Bechtolsheim and<br />
Jayshree Ullal had already built<br />
Arista Networks into a successful<br />
IT networking company, but the<br />
rise of cloud computing took<br />
them to a whole new level.<br />
words Doug Milbrodt<br />
Ullal and Bechtolsheim<br />
at the NYSE to see Arista<br />
become a public company<br />
When Andreas Bechtolsheim founded<br />
Arista Networks in 2004, he had<br />
already played a key role in starting<br />
a number of IT industry stalwarts,<br />
including Sun Microsystems.<br />
With Arista, however, Bechtolsheim had a very specific<br />
goal in mind: to build an IT company led by engineers<br />
that would provide disruptive, innovative solutions for<br />
the world’s largest networking challenges. Over the next<br />
four years, he focused on building the foundation for<br />
Arista’s networking software architecture. In 2008, he<br />
recruited industry leader Jayshree Ullal, a former Cisco<br />
Systems executive, to serve as CEO.<br />
Together, Bechtolsheim (working as<br />
Chief Development Officer) and Ullal<br />
have perfected the formula that has<br />
powered Arista’s rapid ascent in the<br />
networking industry. The company<br />
currently has more than 3,000<br />
customers — primarily data centers and<br />
high-performance computing centers —<br />
on its client roster.<br />
Drawing on his prior IT industry<br />
experience, Bechtolsheim was<br />
determined not to seek outside financing<br />
when starting the company.<br />
<strong>Exceptional</strong> February–June 2016<br />
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