Cisco’s CTO has joined cloud storage company Box’s board of directors.
The addition of Padmasree Warrior to the ambitious startup’s board means she will work alongside VeriSign’s CFO and the ex-CIO of General Electric – forming an impressive group to oversee technology development and corporate strategy for the firm.
Box CEO Aaron Levie is understandably delighted at her inclusion, writing on his blog: "Padma’s expertise will be invaluable as Box evolves and scales to help businesses everywhere navigate this transition. She has a keen sense of what the future of work will look like, and I’m excited to work with her as we establish Box’s role in powering that future."
But these are some pretty big companies hovering around the innovative enterprise storage firm, and while Box is believed to have privately filed for an IPO – expected to take place in April – perhaps there is a danger that one of these larger businesses will try and make an offer the nine-year-old company can’t refuse.
There were rumours flying around that HP was interested in acquiring Box in the last couple of weeks, with Forbes going so far as to write a story it later pulled down.
HP were tight-lipped at a recent interview with CBR, but it goes to show Box may have to fend off some tempting offers if it’s determined to trade publicly.
