“Brian NeSmith is a 1984 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, holding a Bachelors Degree in electrical engineering.
In 1993, NeSmith co-founded Newbridge Networks’ Local Area Networking business, VIVID, and served as the unit’s first general manager. Under NeSmith’/s direction, VIVID developed and executed Newbridge’s product strategy for Layer 3 Switched Routing products.
In 1995, NeSmith co-founded and was CEO of Ipsilon Networks, the pioneer of IP Switching technology. In 1997, Ipsilon was acquired by Nokia, where the Ipsilon products became the basis for the market-leading Nokia firewall appliance. NeSmith served as general manager of the Nokia firewall appliance division. That business has grown to a $500M annual revenue.
In March 1999, NeSmith was appointed President and CEO of then privately-held CacheFlow. NeSmith took the company public in November 1999, and has led the company on a strategic evolution to Blue Coat Systems, profitability and the number one proxy appliance position worldwide.
Throughout his career, NeSmith has been a prominent figure in the IT industry, regularly speaking at industry events including Networld+Interop, Supercomm, InternetWorld and Technologic Partners’ Network Outlook. NeSmith has also has written for publications such as Network World, Data Communications, and InternetWeek. NeSmith is a frequent guest on network television programs such as CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg.
Today, NeSmith leads Blue Coat Systems in its mission to provide organizations with total visibility and control of all Web communications.” (Source: Blue Coat Systems)
| Company | Date | Round | Size | Participants |
| StopTheHacker | 2/12 | Series A | $1.1M | 2 |
| UpMo | 8/11 | Venture Round | $1.7M | 3 |
