Changes at the Top at NJ Tech Companies Wayside and Comodo

Wayside:Wayside Technology Group (Eatontown) announced that Simon F. Nynens has resigned as the company president, CEO and chairman of the board of directors, effective May 11. Nynens does not intend to stand for reelection to the board at Wayside’s 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, a company release stated. 

Under Nynens’ watch, Wayside made profits while also cultivating a reputation as a great place to work. The company landed on NJBiz’s list of the best places to work in New Jersey five times, including in 2018.   

“We are dedicated to creating an engaging and welcoming environment for our employees. We believe it’s essential for our employees to have a healthy work?life balance and that it is possible to have both ? a successful career and personal life,” said Nynens when Wayside made the list again this year. “Receiving this honor affirms the importance of putting family and people first. Our team members thrive on supporting a healthy and happy corporate culture.”

Steve DeWindt, the company’s former lead director, will now serve as the company’s interim president and CEO until a permanent successor has been named. Nynens is remaining available for 30 days to assist DeWindt with the transition.

Jeffrey R. Geygan, recently appointed to the board of directors, is now chairman of the board; and the company will continue to execute its previously announced strategic initiatives, according to a release. Geygan said, “While a search for Mr. Nynens’ successor is underway, Mr. DeWindt will oversee the transition until the appointment of a new CEO.  We are fortunate to have Mr. DeWindt step into a management role as we continue to execute on our strategic initiatives.”

DeWindt has deep experience in IT software distribution. He headed up Computer 2000, in Germany, growing its revenues to $3.5 billion; and he ran two distribution companies in the U.S. DeWindt had served as a director of Wayside since January 2014.

Comodo:  Comodo Cybersecurity (Clifton), a cybersecurity solutions company with 150 employees in New Jersey, announced that it had appointed Steve Subar as president and CEO, so that he can lead the company through its next stages of growth. Subar took over from founder Melih Abdulhayoglu, although Abdulhayoglu will continue on as chairman of Comodo Group.

“Steve has a proven track record of successfully leading companies in transition, and in delivering significant growth in highly competitive markets,” said Abdulhayoglu in a statement. “His inspiring leadership and decades of experience give me great confidence that our vision to secure and protect enterprises everywhere they live in the LAN, web and cloud will be immensely successful.”

Subar joins Comodo Cybersecurity with more than 30 years of experience as a founder, CEO and board member of tech companies. Most recently, he was managing director at z2m4 Advisors (Chicago, Ill., and Boulder, Colo.), a management consulting firm serving venture capital and private equity investors in cybersecurity, internet of things and communications technology. He also founded Open Kernel Labs, Inc. (Chicago), a developer of military-grade security products used in more than 1.6 billion mobile devices; it was acquired in 2012 by General Dynamics (Falls Church, Va.).