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No one can dispute that Network Appliance (NetApp) ranks as the fastest growing provider of turnkey network-attached or fabric-attached storage devices. Revenues for 2006 grew by almost 50 percent to top out at more than $3 billion. For the past five years, NetApp has ranked in the top 50 on Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in the U.S.

In 2000, when Tom Mendoza became NetApp's president, he continued the strong legacy of a culture based on candid communications among management and employees, emphasis on employee creativity and innovation, and respect for all employees, regardless of their position. NetApp encouraged openness and candid communications by employing technologies like CDs and podcasts as well as brown-bag lunch sessions with employees and executives to keep communication lines open.

This culture helped the company to weather the dot.com debacle, when profits dipped from $1 billion to $800 million. Mendoza says "We told everyone the world was changing. We also talked about how we needed to consolidate our efforts and to focus on data recovery and data security. We also needed to make sure our business model could hold up and scale to the needs of business." These days, Mendoza says, "When we interview prospective employees, we talk a lot about innovation. We want employees who can adapt to change and who provide us with good ideas for process and product improvements."

When Mendoza isn't working, he hangs out or vacations with actor Sidney Portier. These two men have known each other for more than 20 years. Mendoza says, "We both like golf, a good laugh, and reading lots of books."

Resources

Gartner Fellows Interview: Tom Mendoza

Mobius and Network Appliance Speed Data Access & Content Management

Dave's Blog at NetApp.com

University of Notre Dame: About the Mendoza Endowment

Network Appliance

Bio

Tom Mendoza joined Network Appliance (NetApp) in 1994 and has served as its president since 2000. He has more than 31 years as a high-technology executive and has served in an advisory capacity on the board of directors of several emerging technology companies. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. from Stanford University's Executive Business Program. In September 2000, the University of Notre Dame renamed its business school the Mendoza College of Business following an endowment from Tom and his wife. Mendoza has spoken about corporate culture and leadership at venues sponsored by Oracle, Veritas, Fijitsu-Siemens, and the U.S. Marine Corp.

Production Credits

Elizabeth Ferrarini, Producer
Dana Farver, Executive Producer, Communities Editor-in-Chief
Tom Parish, Audio Producer, Show Host