AI executive Manuvir Das joins Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC) board, Audit Committee
Filing Impact
Filing Sentiment
Form Type
8-K
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Western Digital Corporation has appointed veteran technology executive Manuvir Das to its board of directors, effective May 26, 2026. He will serve until the next annual stockholder meeting and has also been named to the board’s Audit Committee.
Das brings senior leadership experience from NVIDIA, Dell EMC, and Microsoft, with deep expertise in enterprise AI, data infrastructure, and cloud computing. He currently serves as an Operating Partner in the Digital Infrastructure group at Stonepeak Partners LP. With his addition, Western Digital’s board now has nine directors, eight of whom are external and independent.
Positive
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Negative
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8-K Event Classification
3 items: 5.02, 7.01, 9.01
3 items
Item 5.02
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers
Governance
Key personnel changes including departures, elections, or appointments of directors and executive officers.
Item 7.01
Regulation FD Disclosure
Disclosure
Material non-public information disclosed under Regulation Fair Disclosure, often investor presentations or guidance.
Item 9.01
Financial Statements and Exhibits
Exhibits
Financial statements, pro forma financial information, and exhibit attachments filed with this report.
Key Figures
Effective appointment date: May 26, 2026
Press release date: May 28, 2026
Board size after appointment: 9 directors
+1 more
4 metrics
Effective appointment date
May 26, 2026
Date Manuvir Das joined Western Digital’s board
Press release date
May 28, 2026
Date Western Digital publicly announced the appointment
Board size after appointment
9 directors
Total Western Digital directors following Das’s addition
Independent directors
8 directors
Number of external and independent directors on the board
Key Terms
Audit Committee, Regulation FD, indemnification agreement, non-employee directors, +1 more
5 terms
Audit Committee financial
"Mr. Das was appointed as a member of the Audit Committee of the Board."
A company's audit committee is a small group of board members who act like independent inspectors for the firm's finances, overseeing how financial reports are prepared, monitoring internal controls, and managing the relationship with external auditors. Investors care because a strong audit committee reduces the risk of accounting errors, fraud, or misleading statements, making financial statements more trustworthy and helping protect shareholder value.
Regulation FD regulatory
"Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure. The Company issued a press release on May 28, 2026"
Regulation FD is a rule that prevents company insiders, like executives, from sharing important information with some people before others get it. It matters because it helps ensure all investors have equal access to key news, making the stock market fairer and reducing chances of insider trading.
indemnification agreement regulatory
"the Company will also enter into its standard form of indemnification agreement with Mr. Das"
An indemnification agreement is a contract in which one party promises to cover losses, costs, or legal claims that another party might face, acting like a tailored safety net or private insurance policy. For investors, it matters because such agreements shift potential financial risk away from a company or its officers and onto the indemnifier, which can affect a company’s future liabilities, cash flow and how risky the investment appears during deal-making or litigation.
non-employee directors financial
"standard compensation program for non-employee directors, which is summarized in the “Director Compensation” section"
Non-employee directors are board members who do not work for the company as salaried employees and usually do not hold day-to-day management roles. They act like outside referees or independent coaches, providing oversight, asking tough questions, and protecting shareholders’ interests; investors care because these directors help ensure management is accountable, reduce conflicts of interest, and influence decisions that affect company strategy and long-term value.
Inline XBRL technical
"104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)."
Inline XBRL is a file format for financial filings that embeds machine-readable data tags directly inside the human-readable report, so the same document can be read by people and parsed by software. For investors it makes extracting, comparing and verifying financial numbers faster and more reliable—like a grocery list where each item also has a barcode—reducing manual errors and speeding up analysis.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 26, 2026
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation) | (Commission File Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||||||||||||
| (Address of Principal Executive Offices) | (Zip Code) | |||||||||||||
(408 ) 717-6000
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Not applicable
(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
| Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) | ||||||||
| Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) | ||||||||
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) | ||||||||
| Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) | ||||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: | |||||||||||
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | |||||||||
(Nasdaq Global Select Market) | |||||||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter). | |||||||||||
| Emerging growth company | |||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐ | |||||||||||
Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On May 26, 2026, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Western Digital Corporation (the “Company”) unanimously appointed Manuvir Das to serve as a member of the Board until the Company’s next annual meeting of stockholders and until his successor is duly elected and qualified. In addition, Mr. Das was appointed as a member of the Audit Committee of the Board. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Das and any other person pursuant to which Mr. Das was appointed to serve on the Board. Mr. Das does not have any direct or indirect material interest in any transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.
Mr. Das will receive compensation for his services as a director in accordance with the Company’s standard compensation program for non-employee directors, which is summarized in the “Director Compensation” section of the Company’s Proxy Statement, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on October 6, 2025. In accordance with the Company’s customary practice, the Company will also enter into its standard form of indemnification agreement with Mr. Das, which agreement is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on January 30, 2025.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
The Company issued a press release on May 28, 2026 announcing Mr. Das’s appointment as a member of the Board. The press release making this announcement is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.
In accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K, the information in this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed to be “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, and shall not be incorporated by reference into any registration statement or other document filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
99. 1 Press Release issued by Western Digital Corporation on May 28, 2026.
104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Western Digital Corporation | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Cynthia Tregillis | |||||||||||||||||||
| Cynthia Tregillis | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date: May 28, 2026
WD Appoints Manuvir Das to Board of Directors
Veteran technology executive and AI infrastructure leader brings deep expertise in enterprise AI, data infrastructure and cloud computing
SAN JOSE, Calif. – May 28, 2026 – Western Digital Corporation (Nasdaq: WDC), the storage foundation of the AI-driven data economy, today announced the appointment of Manuvir Das to its board of directors, effective May 26, 2026. Das previously held senior leadership roles at NVIDIA, Dell EMC, and Microsoft, and brings deep expertise in enterprise AI, data infrastructure, and cloud computing. He currently serves as an Operating Partner in the Digital Infrastructure group at Stonepeak Partners LP, a position he assumed in April 2025.
“Manuvir is a highly respected technology leader with a strong track record of driving innovation across some of the world’s leading AI, cloud, and enterprise infrastructure companies,” said Marty Cole, chairman, WD. “His experience helping enterprises operationalize AI at scale, combined with his deep understanding of data infrastructure and storage, will be invaluable as WD continues building the infrastructure that makes AI possible. We are excited to welcome Manuvir to the board.”
"I am honored to join WD’s board at such an important moment for the industry,” said Manuvir Das. “AI is reshaping the technology landscape and driving extraordinary growth in data creation and infrastructure investment. WD's storage infrastructure is foundational to enabling AI at scale. I look forward to working with the board and leadership team as the company continues helping customers build for the future.”
Das most recently served as Head of Enterprise Computing at NVIDIA, where he led the company’s enterprise AI strategy, launched the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software suite, and worked to make AI more accessible and production-ready for enterprise customers worldwide.
Prior to NVIDIA, Das led Dell EMC’s unstructured data storage business, overseeing the scale-out Isilon NAS platform and the scale-out ECS Object platform. Earlier in his career, he spent 14 years at Microsoft where he was an original engineering leader behind the development of Microsoft Azure.
Das earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin and his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
With this appointment, Western Digital's board is comprised of nine directors, eight of whom are external and independent.
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About WD
WD, also known as Western Digital, builds the storage infrastructure that powers certainty in the AI-driven data economy. At the forefront of innovation, WD partners with the world's leading hyperscalers, cloud service providers, and enterprises to enable reliable storage solutions that are proven and trusted at scale. Driven by a culture of innovation and execution, WD helps customers store, protect, and use the world's data with confidence. Follow WD on LinkedIn and learn more at www.wd.com.
FAQ
What did Western Digital (WDC) announce in this Form 8-K filing?
Western Digital announced the appointment of Manuvir Das to its board of directors, effective May 26, 2026. He will serve until the company’s next annual stockholder meeting and has also been appointed to the board’s Audit Committee.
Who is Manuvir Das, the new Western Digital (WDC) board member?
Manuvir Das is a veteran technology executive with senior leadership experience at NVIDIA, Dell EMC, and Microsoft. He has led enterprise AI strategy, unstructured data storage businesses, and early development of Microsoft Azure, bringing deep expertise in AI, data infrastructure, and cloud computing.
What committee will Manuvir Das serve on at Western Digital (WDC)?
Manuvir Das has been appointed to the Audit Committee of Western Digital’s board of directors. This committee oversees financial reporting and related controls, making his background in enterprise technology and infrastructure particularly relevant to the company’s governance framework.
How does Manuvir Das’s appointment change Western Digital’s (WDC) board structure?
With Manuvir Das’s appointment, Western Digital’s board now consists of nine directors in total. Of these nine directors, eight are described as external and independent, reinforcing the company’s emphasis on independent oversight at the board level.
Will Manuvir Das receive standard director compensation at Western Digital (WDC)?
Yes. The filing states that Manuvir Das will receive compensation in line with Western Digital’s standard program for non-employee directors. The program is summarized in the company’s prior proxy statement and reflects typical fees and equity for outside directors.
Did Western Digital (WDC) issue a press release about the new board appointment?
Yes. Western Digital issued a press release on May 28, 2026 announcing Manuvir Das’s appointment to the board. This press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 and is furnished under Regulation FD as part of the same submission.