Ben Petro CEO of Teneros

Teneros announced that its board of directors has named Ben Petro as the company’s new president and CEO, replacing Teneros’ founder Steve Lewis, who has stepped down from the position. Petro, the former senior vice president of NeuStar’s  Ultra Services group, will lead Teneros as the company continues to leverage its award-winning technology and financial strength to expand its leadership position in Microsoft infrastructure application continuity solutions to enterprises globally.

"Steve has built a world-class company over the last four years and the investors and stockholders appreciate his fine work. Together with Steve, we welcome Ben Petro to the Teneros team," said Scott Sandell, general partner at New Enterprise Associates and Teneros board member.

"Working with the Teneros board of directors, we found an amazing CEO in Ben Petro," commented Lewis. "Ben has a proven track record for successful business growth that is essential to cementing Teneros’ leadership position." Lewis will continue in an advisory position with the company and will assist with strategic customer relationships.

Petro added, "Steve has built a fantastic team that has innovated a suite of award-winning products to address an essential business requirement. With hundreds of satisfied customers, strong sales momentum, and a great balance sheet, Teneros is strategically positioned to disrupt the market. I look forward to taking Teneros to the next level."

Petro is uniquely qualified to drive Teneros’ growth and success. He is a proven, focused leader with a track record of delivering shareholder value, customer satisfaction and global product adoption in the Fortune 1000 and enterprise vertical.

From 2001 through 2006, Petro served as CEO and president of UltraDNS, the number one provider of managed domain name system (DNS) and traffic management solutions. During his tenure as CEO of UltraDNS, Petro grew the company from near inception to become the undisputed leader in its market. He established market leadership by delivering 800% growth in the company’s customer base. Today, UltraDNS technology has been adopted by thousands of global customers and powers more than 20% of all registered domain names. Petro also drove gross margins to exceed 85% in 2005, and achieved a five-year-revenue compound annual growth rate of 101%, crowned by 75% year-over-year revenue growth for 2005. These accomplishments culminated in the successful acquisition of UltraDNS by NeuStar, Inc. in April of 2006.

Following the acquisition, Petro became SVP of NeuStar’s Ultra Services, which was the company’s highest-growth division during the past two years under Petro’s leadership. Prior to his appointment as CEO of UltraDNS, Petro served as the company’s chief marketing officer where he leveraged his experience in marketing, product planning, business alliance development and strategic/financial planning to develop and bring to market a carrier-class product and gain significant customer traction.

Before joining UltraDNS, Petro was vice president of marketing at Edge Connections, where he was responsible for creating and implementing its national brand, deploying a successful strategy for its service offering, and forging key strategic alliances necessary for the company’s subsequent long-term growth. As director of marketing for Logix Communications, Petro launched the company’s CLEC/broadband services in over 20 markets. Petro also held leadership positions in marketing and strategy at MCI Communications and communications consulting firm, QSI.