Steelbox Networks Names New Chief Executive Officer

ATLANTA — Brian Cohen, a veteran of the high-tech industry, is taking over as chief executive officer at Steelbox Networks.

Richard Howes, a co-founder of the firm and its CEO since 2003, is stepping aside. He remains a member of the Steelbox board of directors.

Cohen, who also was named to the firm’s board, was most recently the CEO at S.P.I. Dynamics. Hewlett Packard acquired SPI last August. He also founded Technologic, a developer of firewall security appliances, in 1992. He also has worked with Management Matters. An investment and consulting firm, Dun & Bradstreet Software, and Management Science America.

SteelBox was formed in 2003 by a team of engineers with experience at Cisco, Nortel, Scientific Atlanta and other firms. The company is developing large-scale solutions for video that enable hundreds of streams of content to be handled through video over Internet Protocol equipment.

“As cameras and IP TV are increasing video content across IP networks, organizations are demanding greater performance, more storage and overall scalability,” Cohen said in a statement. “I’m delighted to join the team at Steelbox, which is extremely well-positioned to own a large share of the video distribution and storage market.”

Steelbox has raised three rounds of venture funding, including $10 million last year. Backers include Sierra Ventures.