Leadership
Meet the leaders that drive Densify forward
Gerry Smith, CEO
Gerry Smith assumed the role of CEO of Densify in November 2005. Prior to joining Densify, he served as Executive Vice President of IT Governance solutions at Compuware Corporation, a publicly-traded company.
Gerry was previously CEO and a founder of Changepoint Corporation, an IT Governance software company acquired by Compuware in 2004 for $100 million. During his tenure at Changepoint, he raised over $40 million in venture capital and grew the business from $0 to over $30 million in revenue. He is a member of the Young Presidents Association (YPO) and was honored in 2002 as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40™.
Gerry graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Toronto and a Masters of Business Administration from McMaster University.
Riyaz Somani, Co-Founder & President
As President and Co-founder of Densify, Riyaz Somani plays an instrumental role in setting the strategic direction for the company and is directly responsible for overseeing Densify product management, engineering, customer management, and SaaS operations teams.
Prior to Densify, Riyaz was CEO and co-founder of Opensoft Inc., a Consulting firm specializing in design and development of very large scale mission-critical systems for the Fortune 1000.
He is a Certified Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from The University of Waterloo.
Andrew Hillier, Co-Founder & CTO
Andrew Hillier has over 20 years of experience in the creation and implementation of mission-critical cloud applications for the world’s largest enterprises. As CTO and co-founder of Densify, he heads product strategy and leads the creation of sophisticated workload pattern analysis and machine learning technology that underpins the Densify solution. Hillier holds 10 patents in this field and is a noted thought leader and speaker in the area of cloud and container technologies.
Prior to Densify, Andrew led the development of solutions for major financial institutions, including fixed income, equity, futures & options and interest rate derivatives trading systems, as well as in the fields of covert military surveillance, advanced traffic and train control, and the robotic inspection and repair of nuclear reactors. Based on insight gained in these fields, Hillier also pioneered a state of the art systems management solution, which was acquired by a major server vendor.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in computer engineering from The University of New Brunswick.
Chuck Tatham, CRO
Chuck Tatham has 20 years of experience in enterprise software marketing, sales and corporate management. As CRO, he is responsible for global salse, marketing, and strategic business development initiatives and the Densify partner channel.
Prior to Densify, Chuck was vice president of IT Governance marketing at Compuware Corporation, responsible for global marketing of the IT Governance product. He previously served as vice president of marketing and business development for Changepoint Corporation, an IT Governance software company. As a member of Changepoint’s executive team, Chuck helped grow revenue from $1 million to over $30 million, resulting in the company’s acquisition by Compuware. He also held senior roles in sales and channel sales at Lotus Development.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from The University of Toronto.
Henry Jurgens, SVP, Product & Operations
Henry Jurgens has 20 years of product management experience. As SVP, Product & Operations, Henry is responsible for the technology and solution strategies that drive product development and establish the Densify position as an industry leader of control analytics for software-defined infrastructure.
Prior to joining Densify, Henry held various senior Product Management roles at Mentor Graphics and Valor Computerized Systems. Additionally, as the Manager of Engineering Systems at Celestica, Henry drove the creation of a globally distributed team responsible for implementing standard software based engineering business processes across all of Celestica’s global design and manufacturing operations.
Henry is a Certified Professional Engineer that holds both B.A.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Toronto.
Ray Boots, SVP, Customer Management
Ray Boots has over 20 years of experience leading change in IT organizations. As SVP, Customer Management, Boots is responsible for ensuring customers’ success.
Prior to joining Densify, Ray was an executive at TD Bank where he was responsible for Capacity Management and Planning, as well as the liaison between Central IT and the CIO teams within each line of business. Boots was also responsible for delivering cost effective Infrastructure Services as the lead Services Executive for a number of large IBM outsourcing clients.
Ray is a Professional Engineer with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business.
Jeff Pauze, SVP, Engineering
Jeff Pauze has nearly three decades of experience in software development and engineering. As senior vice president of engineering for Densify, he is responsible for driving engineering, product development and technology strategy, to deliver additional business value to customers.
Prior to Densify, He spent eight years at Changepoint Corporation, an IT Governance software company, before joining Compuware Corporation following the company’s acquisition. As director of software development, he was responsible for architectural design and implementation of the Changepoint solution. He also spent 10 years in software development and engineering at American Express.
Ayman Gabarin, SVP, Europe, Middle East & Africa
Ayman Gabarin has over 25 years of experience in various business sectors including enterprise software and industrial services. As senior vice president, he is responsible for sales and delivery of Densify in the EMEA region. Prior to Densify, Ayman was the EMEA Vice President of IT Governance at Compuware Corporation and previously, he launched the EMEA business as Vice President for Changepoint Corporation, an IT Governance software company. As a member of Changepoint’s executive team, he grew revenues to 30% of Changepoint’s global sales resulting in the company’s 2004 acquisition by Compuware.
Ayman holds a Bachelor of Applied Science and Engineering degree from the University of Toronto.
Andy Walton, VP, Sales, North America
Andy Walton has a proven track record of enterprise sales success in his many years working with technology vendors in the enterprise data center and hybrid cloud sectors. As Vice President of North American Sales, he is responsible for the sales and presales divisions of Densify across Canada, USA, and Latin America.
Prior to his time with Densify, Andy has held management, sales, and technical roles at IBM, KANA Software, Octel Communications, and Tandem Computers.
Andy holds an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics and Business Administration from the University of Waterloo.
Amit Johry, VP, Product & Services
Amit Johry has over a decade of experience leading Technical Services teams. As VP of Product & Services, Amit is responsible for driving product innovation and supporting customers as they improve the efficiency and performance of their Public Cloud and Container investments.
Prior to joining Densify, Amit was a Java developer at Sun Microsystems.
Amit has an MBA from the Ivey School of Business, and a Masters in Computer Science from Boston University.