Personal conduct failing forces F5 Networks President and CEO Rivelo to resign

Manuel Rivelo, president, CEO, and board member of cloud networking and software-defined networking (SDN) technology vendor F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), has resigned from all three positions for what the company termed "matters regarding personal conduct unrelated to the operations or financials of the company." Longtime F5 President and Chief Executive Officer John McAdam, whom Rivelo replaced in July when McAdam became chairman of the board, will step in for Rivelo until a permanent replacement can be found.

Alan Higginson, current F5's lead independent director, has been appointed non-executive chairman of the board to replace McAdam. Higginson was chairman before McAdam.

Neither the company nor press reports have detailed the personal conduct failings that caused Rivelo's departure.

"I want to emphasize that these actions are in no way related to the company's operating performance or financial condition," stated Higginson. "This change in management, while unexpected, is strictly related to personal conduct matters. We are confident that F5 will be in good hands with John leading the company forward."

"I would like to add that the Board of Directors and the executive leadership team remain fully committed to the strategy and financial targets we articulated in our earnings announcement on October 28, 2015," said McAdam.

McAdam's resignation from the president and CEO position and Rivelo's ascension as his replacement were announced this past April. Rivelo had been F5's executive vice president of strategic solutions. Prior to joining F5 in October 2011, he spent 19 years at Cisco, concluding his tenure there with the title senior vice president of engineering systems and operations.

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