Nordcloud, an IBM company, appoints Jan Kritz as new CEO

Nordcloud, an IBM company, announced a significant leadership transition today. After ten years of dedicated service and visionary leadership, Fernando Herrera, the founder and current CEO of Nordcloud, will step down from his position as of August 31, 2023. He will remain available on an advisory basis. Jan Kritz has been named as the new CEO. 

Fernando’s tenure at Nordcloud has been transformative. His outstanding stewardship has grown the company from a promising start-up to a European cloud-native powerhouse, making it one of the leading players in the industry. 

Fernando comments, “It has been a great honor to lead Nordcloud to where we are today. I am deeply proud of what we have accomplished and grateful for the opportunity to work with so many talented individuals. IBM has been a fantastic platform for Nordcloud to grow and execute on its mission to help clients make the most out of the cloud. I am confident that under Jan’s leadership, the company will continue to thrive and lead the way in the cloud services industry.” 

Transition is the culmination of our medium-term strategic plan 

This transition is part of the medium-term strategic plan the two companies put in place after IBM acquired Nordcloud in December 2020. The plan aimed to ensure that Nordcloud, as an independent subsidiary, would accelerate and grow with IBM’s support. Fernando’s departure marks the completion of Nordcloud’s latest strategic objectives, and begins a new chapter for Nordcloud as the business moves to the next phase of scale. 

Jan Kritz commented: “Over the past 10 years, Fernando shaped Nordcloud into a cloud-native leader recognised by the best in the business. Under his leadership thousands of talented people have developed at the cutting edge of tech and hundreds of organisations have benefitted from all that public cloud has to offer. I look forward to building on that track record. We have an incredible team and a clear mission – to be the best in the world. Together, we will continue to push boundaries.” 

“Fernando has been a visionary leader, driven by relentless passion, strategic vision, and unwavering dedication to Nordcloud’s growth and success. He has also been an invaluable sparring partner, engaging with me on technology thought leadership subjects with expertise and enthusiasm. His leadership has played an instrumental role in the success of our joint business. As he embarks on new endeavors, we extend our best wishes to him. We also warmly welcome Jan Kritz, who is a natural successor to Fernando and a recognized business leader in his own right. With his partnership, we look forward to the continued expansion of our Nordcloud/IBM collaboration, seamlessly blending the best of cloud-native strategy and technology with enterprise-scale capabilities”, said Varun Bijlani, IBM Global Managing Partner, Hybrid Cloud Services.

About Nordcloud 

Nordcloud, an IBM company, is a European leader in cloud consulting, implementation, application development, managed services and training. Nordcloud is a recognised cloud pioneer with a proven track record of helping organisations leverage public clouds in a way that balances quick wins, immediate savings and lasting value. Nordcloud is triple certified for Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services – and is a Visionary in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Public Cloud IT Transformation Services. Nordcloud has 10 European locations, more than 2,000 employees and has implemented over 1,000 successful cloud projects. 

Learn more at nordcloud.com.
For more information, please contact edward.maine@nordcloud.com