Paul Maritz, a respected tech industry veteran who did executive stints at VMware and Microsoft, has joined private equity firm Warburg Pincus as an industry advisor.
Maritz was a high-ranking Microsoft (MSFT) exec who drove that company’s successful Windows business before leaving to found Pi, a startup, in which Warburg Pincus invested. Pi was acquired by storage giant EMC in 2008.
Soon thereafter, EMC chief executive Joe Tucci named Maritz chief executive of VMware (VMW), a company partly owned by EMC.
Four years ago, when Microsoft was searching for a new chief executive, Maritz was widely rumored to be on the short list of candidates to replace Steve Ballmer. Satya Nadella got the job.
In his new Warburg Pincus role, Maritz will help the PE company find investment opportunities in enterprise software including the application of cloud computing and machine learning, according to the company’s statement announcing the move. Maritz also remains chairman of Pivotal Software, a four-year-old spinout of EMC and VMware.
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When Microsoft was searching for a new chief executive three years ago, it was widely rumored that Maritz was on the short list of candidates to replace Steve Ballmer.
New York-based Warburg Pincus says it’s managing more than $44 billion in assets.