Millenniata announced that it has hired Finis Conner as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately, succeeding Henry O’Connell, the founding CEO.
According to the statement, O’Connell, who will remain a consultant and member of the Millenniata board of directors, said, “I enthusiastically endorse this appointment as the company moves forward with an aggressive marketing campaign for its innovative products.”
Finis Conner brings over 30 years of experience in the storage business to Millenniata. Conner co-founded Shugart Associates in 1973, where they produced and sold 8″ floppy and hard (HDD) disc drives. The company was sold to Xerox Corporation in 1977. In 1979, Conner co-founded Seagate Technology, where he conceived the original 5 1/4″ Winchester disc drive. In 1986, he founded Conner Peripherals, Inc., Fortune magazine’s pick for “America’s fastest-growing company.” Conner Peripherals was the first to develop and manufacture 3 1/2″ and 2 1/2″ Winchester disk drives used in personal computers. Conner was the first company to receive the Entrepreneur Company Award from both Harvard and the Stanford Business Schools in the same year. He led the growth of the company to $1.4 billion in its 4th year of business and $2.7 billion in its 10th year when Seagate acquired the company.
“We are excited to have someone of Finis’ caliber to take Millenniata to the next level. He is a proven leader that understands what is needed to bring a disruptive technology to market and realize the full potential of this opportunity,” Allen Webb, the chairman of the board, said, “We acknowledge that Henry’s expertise helped give focus and vision during Millenniata’s founding stages. He was able to secure the funding and relationships necessary to grow the technology from an idea to a product.”
“I am excited to have the opportunity to take this innovative technology to market, and grateful to Henry for leading Millenniata from the concept stage to the product stage,” said Conner. “He has been a driving force in generating the excitement necessary to attract seed investors, a talented team, and a strong board of directors that will allow the company to be very successful as it grows.”
For more information visit: www.millenniata.com