Dan Warmenhoven, chairman of the board of directors and executive chairman of NetApp and its CEO from 1994 to 2009, was presented with the 2010 Visionary Award by the Entrepreneurs Foundation. He was chosen to be this year’s recipient for his leadership since the company’s founding in the funding, development and staffing of the community relations function at NetApp.

As explained in a press release, a Visionary Award is given annually “to an individual within the network who best exemplifies the leadership efforts necessary to increase corporate philanthropy and community involvement.” Warmenhoven, recognized as exemplifying this criteria, was praised by the Entrepreneurs Foundation’s executive director, Diane Solinger, for being “a vocal advocate and supporter of the concept that a company’s role in society goes beyond providing jobs and paying taxes.”

In addition, NetApp, a business that is a pioneer in networked storage, was noted for its community involvement program with a Leadership Award. The company has been included in FORTUNE magazine’s lists of “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” and “World’s Most Admired Companies.”

Prior to NetApp, Warmenhoven, who received a B.S.E. in electrical engineering from Princeton, served as chairman, president, and CEO of Network Equipment Technologies, a telecommunications manufacturer. He is a veteran of Hewlett-Packard Company where he held senior management positions, including general manager of the Information Networks group, and was employed for 13 years at IBM Corporation.

Currently Warmenhoven is a director of Bechtel Group, Inc. and Aruba Networks, Inc., vice chairman of the board of the Tech Museum of Innovation and a trustee of Bellarmine College Preparatory. He is a past member of Princeton’s Department of Computer Science Advisory Council. Among the distinctions for his leadership roles, Warmenhoven received an honorary degree from Santa Clara University for his dedication to global business and technology leadership in 2007