Jim Baum
American technology executive who led Netezza as president and CEO through its 2010 acquisition by IBM, later ran the warehouse-robotics startup CasePick Systems, and has since served on multiple corporate boards.
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- Location
- Massachusetts, United States
- Country
- United States
- Known for
- President and CEO of Netezza (2008–2011), leading the company through its $1.7 billion acquisition by IBM
- Education
- B.S. in mechanical engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; M.Eng., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institutestated by the subject
- Prior career
- Spent 11 years at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), rising to executive vice president and general manager
- Recognition
- Received Worcester Polytechnic Institute's inaugural Innovator of the Year Award, 2011stated by the subject
- Later roles
- Board member of DataStax, Newforma and Applitools; venture partner at OpenView; lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management; trustee of Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Overview
Jim Baum is an American technology executive best known as president and chief executive of Netezza from January 2008 until shortly after the company’s 2010 acquisition by IBM. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Newforma via Marketwired).
Career before Netezza
Before Netezza, Baum spent 11 years at Parametric Technology Corporation (PTC), where the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship’s profile of him describes him rising to executive vice president and general manager and helping grow the company’s revenue from $11 million to more than $1 billion (MIT Martin Trust Center). The Worcester Business Journal separately reported that, before joining Netezza, Baum had worked at the Cambridge-based startup Endeca (Worcester Business Journal); DataStax’s own bio of Baum and Newforma’s 2013 board-appointment release both go further, describing him as having served as Endeca’s president and later chief executive before Oracle’s 2011 acquisition of that company (DataStax; Newforma via Marketwired).
Leading Netezza and the IBM acquisition
Effective January 31, 2008, Baum, then Netezza’s president and chief operating officer, succeeded co-founder Jit Saxena as chief executive, with Saxena remaining chairman of the board (Worcester Business Journal). On September 20, 2010, IBM announced it would acquire Netezza for $27 a share, valued at approximately $1.7 billion net of cash, a deal that closed that November. Roughly a year after the acquisition closed, Boston.com reported that Baum had left IBM for a next venture described only as “non-competitive” with Netezza and IBM, with “details” that were, in the article’s words, “sketchy”; the article noted that Netezza’s own website no longer listed him on its executive team page (Boston.com).
After Netezza
That next venture became clear within weeks: in November 2011, Boston.com reported that Baum had become chief executive of CasePick Systems, a low-profile Wilmington, Massachusetts startup then developing robots for warehouse order-picking, with roughly 100 employees. Baum told the paper the shift into robotics was appealing precisely because it differed from software: “Selling software is very much driven by volume, but robotics involves much bigger purchase prices, and a lot of effort to get the technology to work right in each customer deployment” (Boston.com).
Baum went on to join several corporate boards. On October 29, 2013, project-information-management software company Newforma announced he had joined its board, with chief executive Ian Howell saying Baum “brings rich operating experience to help us meet the challenges of a rapidly scaling company”; the same release reported that Worcester Polytechnic Institute had given Baum its inaugural Innovator of the Year Award in 2011 and that he served as a trustee there (Newforma via Marketwired). DataStax’s own team page separately confirms he sits on its board of directors (DataStax), and Applitools’ team page confirms a board role there, describing his career as “over 25 years in technology leadership” and crediting the Netezza-to-IBM transaction as a deal Information Week named a top “disruptive acquisition” of 2010 (Applitools). The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship’s profile additionally identifies Baum as a venture partner at OpenView and a lecturer in entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management (MIT Martin Trust Center).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not independently confirm Baum’s exact title at Endeca, which is reported only by first-party sources (see “openItems” above), and it does not state a specific dollar value for the Netezza-IBM deal beyond the $1.7 billion figure independently established elsewhere on this site, rather than the rounded “nearly $2 billion” figure used in some first-party bios. It does not give exact dates for when Baum joined DataStax’s board or became an OpenView venture partner, since no dated, citable source for either was located. It does not cover CasePick Systems’ later history or outcome beyond his 2011 appointment as its CEO, which would require its own independent research pass.
Timeline
- 2008-01-31
- Becomes president and chief executive of Netezza, succeeding co-founder Jit Saxena, who remains chairman.
- 2010-09-20
- IBM announces it will acquire Netezza for $27 a share, about $1.7 billion net of cash.
- 2011-09
- Leaves IBM roughly a year after the Netezza deal closes, for what is reported as a "non-competitive" next venture.
- 2011-11
- Becomes chief executive of CasePick Systems, a Wilmington, Massachusetts warehouse-robotics company.
- 2011
- Receives Worcester Polytechnic Institute's inaugural Innovator of the Year Award.
- 2013-10-29
- Joins the board of directors of project-information-management software company Newforma.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Two first-party company bios (Newforma's 2013 board-appointment release and DataStax's own team page) describe Baum as having served as 'president and later CEO' of Endeca before Oracle's 2011 acquisition of that company. No independently published, non-first-party source read for this profile corroborated that specific title, and public reporting on Endeca generally credits its founder, Steve Papa, as chief executive through the Oracle deal. This profile reports Baum's Endeca connection as stated in those first-party sources but does not independently confirm his exact title there.
- The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship's own bio of Baum and Applitools' team bio both describe IBM's acquisition of Netezza as being for 'nearly $2 billion.' This profile follows the more precisely and independently corroborated figure established on this site's Netezza profile — $27 a share, approximately $1.7 billion net of cash, per IBM's own announcement and independent reporting by TechCrunch, Fortune, TDWI and Washington Technology — rather than the rounded 'nearly $2 billion' figure.
- No independently dated source could be found for exactly when Baum joined DataStax's board of directors or became a venture partner at OpenView Partners; both are documented facts of record here but without a specific start date.
Sources
8 sources (2 tier 1, 3 tier 2, 3 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
No Wikipedia article on Jim Baum was found or used; all facts here come from newspapers, an academic-institution bio and first-party company releases and team pages, fetched and read in full. The Boston Globe's Boston.com and the Worcester Business Journal, both independent of Baum and of Netezza, supplied the core facts of his Netezza tenure, his 2011 departure from IBM and his move to CasePick Systems. His pre-Netezza and post-Netezza career details, including his education, his time at PTC and Endeca, and his later board and venture-partner roles, rely more heavily on the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship's own profile and on first-party company releases and team pages (Newforma, DataStax, Applitools), since no independent trade-press profile of his full career was located; these are identified as first-party in the facts and sources above rather than presented as independently verified.
- New CEO at CasePick Systems, company developing droids for the warehouse, comes from Netezza Supports: Baum's move to Wilmington, Massachusetts robotics company CasePick Systems as CEO in November 2011, and his own comments on the shift from software to robotics and his plans for the company.
- Netezza CEO Baum out at IBM, on to new 'non-competitive' venture Supports: Confirmation that Baum left IBM about a year after it acquired Netezza, that his departure was described as being for a "non-competitive" next venture, and that IBM confirmed the departure without further explanation.
- Netezza Profits Double, CEO Leaves Supports: The January 31, 2008 transition in which Baum, then president and chief operating officer, succeeded Jit Saxena as chief executive, with Saxena remaining chairman.
- Shop Talk: Q&A With Jim Baum, Netezza Corp. Supports: Baum's background before joining Netezza, including his prior time at Parametric Technology Corp. and at the startup Endeca.
- Jim Baum Supports: Baum's 25-plus-year technology career summary, his growth of PTC's revenue during an 11-year tenure, his account of Endeca's growth before its Oracle acquisition, his Netezza IPO and IBM-acquisition role, and his roles as an MIT Sloan lecturer and Worcester Polytechnic Institute trustee.
- Jim Baum Supports: Confirmation that Baum sits on DataStax's board of directors, and DataStax's own account of his prior roles at Netezza, Endeca and PTC.
- Meet Jim Baum, Board of Directors, Applitools Supports: Confirmation of Baum's board role at Applitools and its description of the Netezza-to-IBM acquisition and his broader board and teaching activities.
- Jim Baum Joins Newforma Board of Directors Supports: The October 29, 2013 board appointment; his mechanical engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; his 2011 WPI Innovator of the Year Award; and his account of the Endeca and PTC roles.
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