Emerson CIO Named President of Combined Aperture and Avocent Businesses
St. Louis, MO, January 11, 2010 – Emerson (NYSE:EMR) today announced the combination of its Aperture and Avocent businesses into a new division that will be led by Stephen C. Hassell, who has served as vice president and chief information officer for Emerson for the past five years.
The new division is part of Emerson Network Power and is headquartered in Huntsville, Ala. The unit combines Avocent’s management systems division -- which offers access and control of the physical aspects of network devices and servers -- with Aperture’s powerful infrastructure software for a robust portfolio of data center infrastructure management solutions. Emerson acquired Avocent in December 2009 and Aperture in February 2008.
Together with Emerson Network Power’s power systems and energy management and precision cooling, the new division creates a unique infrastructure management solution -- from the rack to the room -- for data center managers to address their most pressing challenge – energy efficiency.
“This is an important growth opportunity for Emerson as we offer our data center customers enhanced, game-changing technology and services,” said Emerson Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President David N. Farr. “Steve brings leadership, experience, expertise and a strong customer perspective to his new role.”
As vice president and CIO, Hassell was responsible for Emerson’s information technology strategy for the company’s global operations, including hardware, software, and services, as well as its telecommunications and data center infrastructure.
He has first-hand experience in data center design and management as his team is in the midst of a global consolidation of Emerson’s more than 100 data centers worldwide and recently opened the company’s flagship data center in St. Louis – a $50 million investment that Emerson anticipates will receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
“We are ushering in a new era in data center management,” said Hassell. “The market is ripe for an infrastructure management solution capable of enhancing energy and operational efficiency while improving availability. I believe that our combined talents uniquely position us to deliver a one-of-a-kind solution to customers throughout the world.”
Hassell came to Emerson in 2004 from Invensys, where he had served as chief information officer. Prior to Invensys, Hassell worked in Northrop Grumman’s Newport News division. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the United States Naval Academy and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He holds a master’s in management from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University. His replacement as CIO has not been named.
For more information on the Avocent acquisition, Aperture, or any of the products and solutions from Emerson Network Power, visit www.EmersonNetworkPower.com. For more information on Avocent technologies and solutions, please visit www.Avocent.com.
About Emerson Network Power
Emerson Network Power, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR), is the global leader in enabling Business-Critical Continuity™ from grid to chip for telecommunication networks, data centers, health care and industrial facilities. Emerson Network Power provides innovative solutions and expertise in areas including AC and DC power and precision cooling systems, embedded computing and power, integrated racks and enclosures, power switching and controls, monitoring, and connectivity. All solutions are supported globally by local Emerson Network Power service technicians. Learn more about Emerson Network Power products and services at www.EmersonNetworkPower.com.
About Emerson
Emerson (NYSE:EMR), based in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Emerson’s sales in fiscal 2009 were $20.9 billion. The company is ranked 94th on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest companies. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com.
