IREN Appoints Former Nutanix Executive Eric Hammersley as Security Chief

IREN has appointed former Nutanix security executive Eric Hammersley as chief information security officer, adding another senior hire as the company expands its AI cloud business across data center infrastructure, computing hardware and software.

Hammersley will oversee IREN’s security program across all three layers of its platform, the company said Wednesday. His responsibilities will span the physical data centers underpinning IREN’s operations, the computing systems deployed at those facilities and the software used to deliver cloud services to customers.

The appointment follows the recent additions of Kambiz Aghili as chief product officer and Michael Nudelman as chief development officer. Together, the hires broaden IREN’s leadership bench as the company develops new AI cloud products and expands into additional markets.

Security has become a more important operational consideration for IREN as it builds an AI infrastructure business alongside its bitcoin mining operations. Providing cloud computing services to enterprise and technology customers requires controls covering physical facilities, hardware, networks, software and customer data, as well as compliance with security and data-protection standards.

Hammersley joins IREN from enterprise cloud-computing company Nutanix, where he served as vice president of engineering and chief product security officer. He was responsible for security governance, compliance and operational assurance across Nutanix’s software and software-as-a-service products.

Earlier in his career, Hammersley led software product security architecture for Nvidia’s high-performance computing environments. He also held senior engineering roles supporting the U.S. federal government and defense sector, including serving as chief engineer supporting the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s J6 directorate, which oversees command, control, communications and cyber-related functions.

Hammersley is also a U.S. Navy veteran and has more than two decades of experience working on cloud platforms and critical infrastructure, according to IREN.