Blues Welcomes Silicon Valley Veteran Ian Small as CEO to Deepen Customer Focus and Drive Expansion
Blues, a leader in IoT connectivity solutions, has appointed Ian Small as its new CEO. Small, former CEO of Evernote (2018-2023), brings over 30 years of technology industry experience and a strong track record in scaling companies. This announcement follows Blues' recent $25 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital.
Small's appointment comes at a crucial time as Blues expands its presence in helping enterprises transform physical products into intelligent services. The company specializes in making IoT connectivity simple and secure across various sectors including industrial manufacturing, logistics, and energy. Small's extensive experience includes roles at Telefónica S.A., Apple, and board positions at Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE).
Blues, leader nelle soluzioni di connettività IoT, ha nominato Ian Small come nuovo CEO. Small, ex CEO di Evernote (2018-2023), porta con sé oltre 30 anni di esperienza nel settore tecnologico e un solido percorso nel far crescere aziende. Questa nomina segue il recente round di finanziamento da 25 milioni di dollari di Blues, guidato da Sequoia Capital.
L'arrivo di Small avviene in un momento cruciale, mentre Blues amplia la sua presenza nel supportare le imprese nella trasformazione dei prodotti fisici in servizi intelligenti. L'azienda è specializzata nel rendere la connettività IoT semplice e sicura in diversi settori, tra cui manifattura industriale, logistica ed energia. L'esperienza di Small include ruoli in Telefónica S.A., Apple e incarichi nel consiglio di amministrazione di Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE).
Blues, líder en soluciones de conectividad IoT, ha nombrado a Ian Small como su nuevo CEO. Small, ex CEO de Evernote (2018-2023), aporta más de 30 años de experiencia en la industria tecnológica y un sólido historial en la expansión de empresas. Este anuncio llega tras la reciente ronda de financiación de 25 millones de dólares de Blues, liderada por Sequoia Capital.
La incorporación de Small se produce en un momento clave, mientras Blues amplía su presencia ayudando a las empresas a transformar productos físicos en servicios inteligentes. La compañía se especializa en hacer que la conectividad IoT sea sencilla y segura en diversos sectores, incluyendo manufactura industrial, logística y energía. La amplia experiencia de Small incluye cargos en Telefónica S.A., Apple y puestos en el consejo de administración de Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE).
Blues는 IoT 연결 솔루션 분야의 선두주자로, Ian Small을 새로운 CEO로 임명했습니다. Evernote의 전 CEO(2018-2023)인 Small은 30년 이상의 기술 산업 경험과 기업 확장에 대한 강력한 실적을 보유하고 있습니다. 이번 발표는 Sequoia Capital이 주도한 Blues의 최근 2,500만 달러 자금 조달 라운드에 이어 이루어졌습니다.
Small의 임명은 Blues가 물리적 제품을 지능형 서비스로 전환하는 데 기업을 지원하는 활동을 확장하는 중요한 시점에 이루어졌습니다. 이 회사는 산업 제조, 물류, 에너지 등 다양한 분야에서 IoT 연결을 쉽고 안전하게 만드는 데 특화되어 있습니다. Small의 폭넓은 경험에는 Telefónica S.A., Apple에서의 역할과 Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) 이사회 활동이 포함됩니다.
Blues, un leader des solutions de connectivité IoT, a nommé Ian Small comme nouveau PDG. Small, ancien PDG d'Evernote (2018-2023), apporte plus de 30 ans d'expérience dans l'industrie technologique et un solide parcours dans le développement d'entreprises. Cette annonce fait suite à la récente levée de fonds de 25 millions de dollars de Blues, menée par Sequoia Capital.
La nomination de Small intervient à un moment crucial alors que Blues étend sa présence pour aider les entreprises à transformer les produits physiques en services intelligents. La société est spécialisée dans la simplification et la sécurisation de la connectivité IoT dans divers secteurs, notamment la fabrication industrielle, la logistique et l'énergie. L'expérience étendue de Small inclut des postes chez Telefónica S.A., Apple ainsi que des fonctions au sein du conseil d'administration de Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE).
Blues, ein führendes Unternehmen für IoT-Konnektivitätslösungen, hat Ian Small als neuen CEO ernannt. Small, ehemaliger CEO von Evernote (2018-2023), bringt über 30 Jahre Erfahrung in der Technologiebranche und eine nachweisliche Erfolgsbilanz im Unternehmenswachstum mit. Diese Ankündigung erfolgt nach der jüngsten Finanzierungsrunde von 25 Millionen US-Dollar, die von Sequoia Capital angeführt wurde.
Smalls Ernennung erfolgt zu einem entscheidenden Zeitpunkt, da Blues seine Präsenz bei der Unterstützung von Unternehmen ausbaut, physische Produkte in intelligente Dienstleistungen zu verwandeln. Das Unternehmen spezialisiert sich darauf, IoT-Konnektivität einfach und sicher in verschiedenen Branchen wie der industriellen Fertigung, Logistik und Energie zu gestalten. Smalls umfangreiche Erfahrung umfasst Positionen bei Telefónica S.A., Apple sowie Vorstandsmandate bei Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE).
- Secured $25 million in additional funding led by Sequoia Capital
- Strong demand reported from large enterprise customers
- Appointment of experienced CEO with proven track record in scaling companies
- Growing customer base across multiple sectors and regions
- None.
Insights
Blues appoints veteran tech executive Ian Small as CEO to scale operations after securing $25M funding amid growing enterprise customer demand.
This leadership transition at Blues represents a strategic inflection point for the IoT connectivity solutions provider. Founder Ray Ozzie stepping into an executive chair role while bringing in Ian Small signals the classic founder-to-operator handoff that many successful technology companies undergo when moving from product-market fit to scaling phase.
Small's appointment carries several strategic implications. His experience at Evernote (CEO), Telefónica (Global CDO), and current board positions at
The timing is particularly significant as it coincides with a
Small's background in data-centric roles (CDO at Telefónica) and his advisory role at Squint (manufacturing intelligence) align well with Blues' focus on transforming physical products into data-generating assets. His emphasis on customer listening and turning needs into innovation indicates a likely shift toward more enterprise-friendly product development cycles.
For Blues' competitive positioning, Small's deep technical credentials (9 US patents, engineering background from University of Toronto) combined with CEO experience position the company to potentially accelerate its technical roadmap while simultaneously improving operational efficiency - a challenging balance that many IoT platform companies struggle to maintain.
Small is widely recognized as an end-to-end operator with the ability to drive growth across every stage of the business lifecycle. He brings a standout reputation for listening to customers and turning their needs into innovation. Small's experience spans a broad range of technology companies, from nimble startups to large-scale public enterprises, making him uniquely suited to guide Blues through its next phase of expansion.
The announcement follows Blues' recent closing of
"I founded Blues because of a deeply held belief that all the world's physical products would become connected and intelligent. Since 2020 we've been helping enterprises to do just that - transforming their businesses from products to intelligent services," said Ray Ozzie, founder and executive chair of Blues. "We've reached a phase where our growth calls for a strong operational leader who can help us unlock our full potential by scaling the business. I look forward to working closely with Ian to take Blues to the next level."
Blues is empowering established industries to reinvent themselves through intelligent, cloud-connected products, while also enabling emerging businesses to create entirely new markets. From industrial manufacturing and logistics to the energy sector, Blues addresses the most complex challenges of IoT connectivity, making it simple and secure to bring any physical product online.
"My early conversations with customers proved to be incredibly inspiring, ultimately cementing my decision to join Blues," said Ian Small, CEO of Blues. "On every call, customers shared their excitement about driving revenue or profitability with their new intelligent services, all made possible by tapping the data previously locked inside their products."
"Blues makes it dramatically easier and more affordable to derive actionable insights from physical products, accelerating the time to market for new services. We're driving a long-overdue platform shift by putting these capabilities within reach of every product maker, not just those with big R&D budgets. I'm excited to help Ray, the team, our customers, and partners accelerate the shift."
Small has most recently been CEO of Evernote (2018-2023), Global Chief Data Officer at Telefónica S.A. (2013-2016), and currently serves on the board of directors of Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE), a market-leading manufacturer of optical and photonic products, and Snapdocs, a leading digital mortgage closing provider. He also currently serves as an advisor to Squint, which provides a manufacturing intelligence platform to Fortune 500 enterprises, and has previously served as an advisor to Loon, a graduate of Google's X Labs, as well as to Alpha, Telefónica's long-term innovation/moonshot unit.
Small began his Silicon Valley career in 1989 as a research scientist and senior engineer at Apple, where he led several advanced product and research teams within the Human Interface Group and was responsible for engineering management and product release of QuickTime VR.
Small earned his bachelor's degree in Engineering Science and his master's degree in Computer Science from the University of
About Blues
Blues is a leader in secure wireless connectivity, helping organizations to transform their physical products and businesses to be centered on data and the delivery of data-fueled intelligent services. With customers across transportation, health care, energy, and logistics in
With Blues, customers can easily and securely provision and communicate with any physical product, anywhere, enabling new sources of revenue and new customer experiences while also reducing costs. Blues solves the biggest challenges associated with wireless connectivity, making it easy to securely cloud-connect any physical product at scale.
Thousands of organizations worldwide, from non-profits to startups to enterprises, connect their devices with Blues integrated hardware, software, and cloud services. For more information about Blues and its wireless connectivity solutions, visit blues.com, and follow Blues on LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, and X.
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SOURCE Blues
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