Matt Fawcett SVP, General Counsel, and Secretary, NetApp

NetApp, Inc. announced the appointment of  Matthew Fawcett to the role of senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. He replaces former Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary Andy Kryder, who is retiring after 10 years of service at NetApp.

Effective immediately, Fawcett will lead the worldwide legal team and report to Tom Georgens, president and CEO of NetApp. In his role, Fawcett will be responsible for all legal affairs worldwide, including corporate governance and securities law compliance, intellectual property matters, contracts, and mergers and acquisitions.

"Navigating the complex and changing legal landscape requires a strong advisor, and Matt brings a solid background in the technology industry that will help us continue to meet the regulatory and business requirements necessary in today’s business world," said Georgens. "Matt’s valuable insights and proactive counsel will be great assets to our team and will fit right into NetApp’s fast-paced culture."

"I am excited to be joining NetApp’s strong leadership team and bringing my experience leading global legal teams to such a dynamic company," said Fawcett. "This is an exciting industry with great momentum and I look forward to playing a role helping the company meet its business needs."

Throughout his career, Fawcett advised several leading technology companies on a variety of legal issues, including mergers and acquisitions, patent programs, litigation, and intellectual property. Before joining NetApp, he spent 11 years as senior vice president and general counsel of JDS Uniphase Corporation, where he built a worldwide legal organization, managed dozens of acquisitions and strategic transactions, and oversaw a patent program with thousands of issued and pending patents. Prior to working at JDS Uniphase, Fawcett was corporate counsel at Fujitsu America and before then he held positions at two large international law firms.