Aria Networks has appointed Steve Newton chief executive officer, replacing former CEO Tony Fallows, who has left to pursue other opportunities, according to the company.

The announcement comes in conjunction with the close of a new funding round expected to help the company grow its leadership position in the burgeoning software-defined networking (SDN) market, the company noted.

“Aria Networks is already working with many of the largest Internet companies in the world,” said Newton, in a statement. “As user demand for data continues to grow exponentially, the software solutions provided by Aria Networks become ever more relevant to Internet service providers, network and cloud operators. I am delighted to lead the company into a new era where our applications and software-defined network services will enable Aria to rapidly scale.”

Newton has more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. He joined the company in 2012 when he was appointed to Aria’s board of directors.

The company’s latest round of investments was lead by Seraphim Capital, with the goal of increasing Aria’s ability to provide customers with additional capacity planning and orchestration solutions. Financial details of the funding were not disclosed.

Former CEO Fallow’s LinkedIn profile curently lists him as the vice president of Global Sales and Operations at Versa Networks, a California-based virtualized network functions and services provider.