Vernier's New New CEOVernier's New New CEO

Vernier Networks Inc. has racked up its fourth CEO, as the startup attempts to reposition itself as a wired and wireless network security player.

The new man at the top is Simon Khalaf, formerly president of Volera Inc. He replaces Bruce Coleman, who took over as head of Vernier earlier this year (see Vernier: Third CEO's the Charm?).

So, what happened to Bruce?

Bethany Mayer, Vernier's new VP of marketing, says Coleman was never intended to be a permanent hire. "Bruce was hired as an interim. This was done by the board to give us time to find a new CEO," says Mayer.

It should be noted that Vernier gave no indication that Coleman was a temp when Unstrung spoke to the company in February.

Despite the fast turnover of CEOs at Vernier, the company is banking on Khalaf to establish it in the network security world. "Simon brings a tremendous amount of security experience [to Vernier]," says Mayer.

And, in a market where Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Juniper Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: JNPR) dominate, any small company is certainly going to need something to give it an edge.

Vernier plans to announce new products and funding in July.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung