# Michael Malcolm

> Michael Malcolm is a technology entrepreneur and former University of Waterloo computer science professor. He co-founded NetApp and served as its first CEO, helped found CacheFlow, later Blue Coat Systems, and co-founded Kaleidescape, where he was CEO from 2001 to 2012 and board chair until 2021.

- **Role:** Technology entrepreneur and computer scientist
- **Organizations:** NetApp, CacheFlow / Blue Coat Systems, Kaleidescape, Waterloo Microsystems, University of Waterloo
- **Education:** Bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, University of Denver, Master’s degree and PhD in computer science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded NetApp and served as its first CEO., Helped found CacheFlow, which went public in 1999 and later became Blue Coat Systems., Co-founded Kaleidescape and led it as CEO from 2001 to 2012.

## Career timeline

- **1976** — Worked with Lawrie Melen on an early implementation of Thoth at Waterloo.
- **1991** — Met Dave Hitz on December 2 to discuss the file-server idea that became NetApp.
- **1992** — Co-founded NetApp with Dave Hitz and James Lau; served as its first CEO.
- **1994** — NetApp CEO tenure ended; Dan Warmenhoven became CEO.
- **1996** — Helped found CacheFlow, later renamed Blue Coat Systems.
- **2001** — Co-founded Kaleidescape with Cheena Srinivasan and Dan Collens.
- **2012** — Kaleidescape CEO tenure ended, according to the company’s founders biography.
- **2021** — Stepped away from Kaleidescape’s operational and board roles.

## Achievements

- Co-founded NetApp and served as its first CEO.
- Helped found CacheFlow, which went public in 1999 and later became Blue Coat Systems.
- Co-founded Kaleidescape and led it as CEO from 2001 to 2012.
- Led development of Thoth and Waterloo Port operating systems.

## Latest updates

- **2026-03** — Kaleidescape’s twenty-fifth anniversary coverage revisited its founding by Malcolm, Srinivasan and Collens.
- **2021-09** — A company statement confirmed Malcolm had resigned operational and board positions.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-malcolm-b40a6b6

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/michael-malcolm
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-13