Juniper Networks Fills Its COO Position

Juniper Networks (JNPR-NASDAQ) is filling more of its vacant management positions.  Juniper named Stephen Elop as its Chief Operating Officer.  He served as president of worldwide field operations at Adobe Systems (ADBE) after the Adobe buyout of Macromedia in 2005 and he oversaw Adobe’s global sales organization, field marketing, partners, customer care and professional services.  Elop was Macromedia’s President & CEO at the time that Adobe acquired it.

It is good to see that Juniper has made more and more efforts to fill the long-vacant holes it has had in its structure with someone who is well thought of in the industry.  The personal observation only thing that really be said is that he might not know the ins and outs of competing with the likes of a Cisco (CSCO), Motorola (MOT), and other router makers.  This may also signal that if investors have been hoping for a buyout thatthe company is going to have to go it alone.

JNPR shares closed up 1.5% at $20.23 today, up more than $8.00 from the lows of $12.09 after its implosion last year, and is within about 10% of the $22.63 high seen in the last year.  Its market cap is back to %11.45 Billion, so anyone holding the shares now has already likely been holding the stock for its continued turnaround rather than in hopes that a buyer was coming to gobble up a distressed tech company.  Back in December the company said it would take a $900 million non-cash charge against earnings related to its options probe from 1999 to 2003.

Jon C. Ogg
January 8, 2007