Aruba Wireless Networks has hired ex-Peribit CFO Steffan Tomlinson as its new financial head, Unstrung has learned.

The appointment comes more than seven months after the firm's original CFO, Dustin Williams, left for storage firm Maxtor Corp. (NYSE: MXO)(see Aruba Loses CFO, VP).

The company is spinning the move as part of the preparation for an IPO.

The firm has had an interim consultant in place in the meantime, while it hunted for a suitable replacement, according to Aruba's new senior marketing manager, Don Reckles (see Video Grabs Comms Director)."With the company going through such rapid growth, and with a long-term plan for IPO, it was very important that we find the right candidate," he says in an email to Unstrung. "We found that candidate in Steffan Tomlinson."

According to the latest figures from Dell'Oro Group and Synergy Research Group Inc., Aruba is ranked number three in the wireless switch market behind Symbol Technologies Inc. (NYSE: SBL) (number 1) and {dirlink 2|19} (number 2). Aruba also ranks number four in the overall 802.11 enterprise equipment market, according to Dell'Oro numbers (see WLAN Sales Back on the Climb and Switch Sales Boost WLAN). In the overall numbers, Cisco leads.

Aruba has long been bullish about its prospects for an IPO, but Reckles says that there is no set time frame. "Certainly that's the vision of the company," he says.

Of course, the appointment is bound to spark up some old rumors. Tomlinson's last company was acquired by Juniper Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR)(see Juniper Takes Two: Peribit & Redline). Juniper was rumored to have talked to Aruba about a potential acquisition in the past (see Airespace Creates Turbulence).Reckles says that some rumors should stay dead:

"I guess rumors will come out regardless of what we say… but there’s really no validity to that link. Aruba is structuring and growing the business to remain a standalone company. As you are no doubt aware, Aruba turned down Cisco’s advances many months ago, as an eventual IPO was the goal back then. Since that time, Aruba’s business has continued to grow with revenues ramping quickly, as you can see from the Dell’Oro and other analysts’ reports. So, with everything tracking as it is, there’s no reason to reevaluate that plan."— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung