CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- 

• Robert Hughes appointed President, Worldwide Operations
• Rick McConnell appointed President, Products and Development

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere, announced today two executive-level promotions.  Effective January 1, 2013, Robert (Bob) Hughes will become President, Worldwide Operations, and Rick McConnell will become President, Products and Development.  Both are currently Akamai executive vice presidents and will report to the company's new CEO, Tom Leighton, whose appointment was also announced today.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100225/AKAMAILOGO)

"We are very fortunate to have proven leaders with such outstanding track records as Bob and Rick," said Dr. Leighton.  "Their experience and expertise will be invaluable as we work to grow our traditional businesses, innovate rapidly in new areas, and strive to capitalize on emerging opportunities in new markets.  Under their leadership this year, Akamai has accelerated its rate of product innovation, global expansion, customer support, and talent acquisition." 

Mr. Hughes has been with Akamai for 13 years and has been responsible for global sales and services since 2003, and global marketing since 2005.  Under his management, Akamai yearly revenues have increased by a compounded rate of 28 percent from $161 million in 2003 to over $1 billion, and the Akamai sales, services and marketing organization has grown to include 39 offices in 22 countries.  As President, Worldwide Operations, Mr. Hughes will be responsible for managing Akamai's day-to-day global business operations, including all aspects of the Akamai customer experience, direct and indirect sales channels, services and support functions, go-to-market strategy, branding, and human resources.

Mr. McConnell joined Akamai in 2011 and has been instrumental in managing and scaling the development, innovation, and productivity of Akamai's product divisions.  Under his leadership, Akamai has released market-leading solutions in the areas of Web site and application acceleration, enterprise cloud, Web security, mobility, and online media.  Before joining Akamai, Mr. McConnell served in a number of senior executive positions at Cisco Systems, including Vice President and General Manager of the Unified Communications Business Unit in Cisco's Voice Technology Group.  His time at Cisco also included having led strategy and operations for the company's $5 billion Communications and Collaboration business.  Previously, Mr. McConnell was CEO of a leading provider of voice and web conferencing solutions.  As President, Products and Development, Mr. McConnell will be responsible for managing Akamai's product divisions, including product engineering, and corporate development.

About Akamai
Akamai^® is the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere.  At the core of the Company's solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ providing extensive reach, coupled with unmatched reliability, security, visibility and expertise.  Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud.  To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit www.akamai.com or blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

SOURCE Akamai Technologies, Inc.