DDN Appoints Vice Chairman Amid Enterprise AI Expansion
•February 5, 2026
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Why It Matters
Moazami’s industry clout and investor connections could accelerate DDN’s path to an IPO, unlocking capital for its AI‑centric growth. The move underscores the rising importance of high‑performance data infrastructure in the AI boom.
Key Takeaways
- •DDN appoints Mohsen Moazami as vice chairman.
- •Appointment hints at potential IPO by 2027.
- •Blackstone invested $300M, boosting AI-focused growth.
- •DDN integrates Infinia storage with Lustre under unified control plane.
- •Recent hires target product expansion and enterprise AI market.
Pulse Analysis
DDN’s evolution from a niche high‑performance computing (HPC) supplier to a broader AI‑focused data infrastructure player reflects a wider industry shift. After Blackstone injected $300 million in early 2023, the company has doubled down on its Infinia object storage platform and the Lustre file system, unifying them under a single control plane. This consolidation simplifies management for customers running massive AI training workloads, positioning DDN as a one‑stop shop for the storage demands of next‑generation models.
The appointment of Mohsen Moazami as vice chairman adds a seasoned executive with deep ties to both enterprise technology and capital markets. Moazami’s tenure at Cisco’s emerging markets unit, his venture‑capital experience, and his recent role at Groq—where he helped close a $20 billion Nvidia partnership—equip him to navigate DDN’s expansion into government and sovereign sectors while courting institutional investors. Although not formally on the board, his title signals a strategic intent, and analysts interpret it as a precursor to an IPO, potentially as early as 2027.
For the broader market, DDN’s moves highlight the escalating demand for scalable, high‑throughput storage as AI models grow in size and complexity. Competitors such as Dell EMC and NetApp are also bolstering their AI‑ready offerings, but DDN’s focus on integrating storage and file‑system technologies gives it a differentiated value proposition. If the company proceeds with a public offering, the capital raised could fund further R&D, expand its global sales footprint, and cement its role as a critical infrastructure layer in the AI ecosystem.
DDN appoints vice chairman amid enterprise AI expansion
DDN appoints Mohsen Moazami as vice chairman, possibly signaling an IPO intention
DDN has appointed Mohsen Moazami as vice chairman, possibly signaling an IPO intention.
DDN took in $300 million in January last year from the Blackstone private‑equity business and has been focusing more and more on enterprise AI as well as its traditional high‑performance computing beat following its success in the Nvidia AI training market. It has been emphasizing its Infinia object storage system alongside its HPC‑originated Lustre software, placing both underneath a single DDN control plane.
Mohsen Moazami
Moazami will work closely with CEO and co‑founder Alex Bouzari and the executive team to “advance DDN’s next phase of growth.” This will involve deepening global customer relationships, expanding government and sovereign engagements, and strengthening the company’s long‑term positioning with the investment community.
Moazami was a member of the Office of the CEO and President of International at Groq, through and shortly after its $20 billion agreement with Nvidia. Previously he founded a venture‑capital firm, CNTP, and before that spent 12 years at Cisco where his last role was on the leadership team of the Emerging Markets group with a span of 132 countries and managing a $6 billion P&L.
DDN founders Alex Bouzari and Paul Bloch sit on the board, along with CTO and Infinia architect Sven Oehme, and Jas Khaira from Blackstone, where he is Head of Americas and Founding Member of the Tactical Opportunities Group.
A LinkedIn post by Moazami said:
“I’m thrilled to join DDN as vice chairman to help scale the world’s most powerful data infrastructure – the essential foundation powering the global AI revolution. A Blackstone‑backed high‑growth company, I am jazzed to work side by side with Alex Bouzari, Paul Bloch, and Jasvinder Khaira.”
This and Moazami’s vice‑chair title implies he is a DDN board member, but because he is not explicitly listed as such, we asked DDN to clarify and it told us: “He is not on the board.”
As we understand it, there is no need for Moazami to strengthen DDN’s long‑term positioning with the investment community, unless that community is investing in DDN. Moazami’s background suggests he will be talking to institutional‑class investors. We read his appointment as a signal that DDN could be planning an IPO for 2027, possibly earlier.
Other recent DDN exec‑level hires since the Blackstone investment include chief product officer Omer Asad, and Chris Schin as a VP of product management. He joins DDN after a short career break following being GM of data protection at HPE until April this year. Asad’s CV includes a stint at HPE looking after the Zerto data protection product.
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