VMware CEO on new boss Michael Dell: 'We're getting along quite well'

VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger affirmed his strong relationship with his new boss Michael Dell, who's now the majority owner of the company following Dell's acquisition of EMC, which was the majority owner of VMware.

"Michael and I are getting along quite well," Gelsinger told Business Insider, after announcing its big partnership with AWS on Thursday. "He's fully on board with the direction that we're taking here."

Gelsinger's comments should soften some of the concerns investors might have about the Dell-EMC deal's impact on VMware. Earlier this year, trade publication CRN published a story claiming Gelsinger would depart after the deal, following a massive leadership brain drain at VMware.

Although Gelsinger publicly denied those rumors, and Dell told The Information last month that Gelsinger is VMware's "long-term CEO," the relationship between the two executives is something to keep an eye on. Gelsinger has reportedly clashed with EMC executives, and the two companies were always an uneasy fit: EMC's traditional product is hardware for storing data, which means it benefits when companies expand their data centers, while VMware's mission has been to help companies get the most out of their existing data center hardware so they wouldn't need to buy more.

Gelsinger said the Dell integration has helped speed up its decision-making process, as Dell is now VMware's chairman as well. For example, Dell was "very affirming" about exploring VMware's bombshell partnership with Amazon Web Services from the beginning, and many investors believe that deal will help the company keep its big enterprise customers, at least in the short term. Gelsinger also noted that both Dell and EMC could help sell more VMware products as they become potential sales channels.

"The integration with Dell is a huge transition for the company, but we believe this is a great opportunity to accelerate the growth of VMWare," Gelsinger told us.

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through hispersonal investment company Bezos Expeditions.