By Lori HawkinsA Kansas-based cloud hosting services company has hired an Austin technology executive as CEO and is planning an expansion in Central Texas.Codero Hosting said new CEO Emil Sayegh will be based in Austin, where the company will open an office that will handle sales, marketing and product development.Sayegh, 45, previously led and expanded cloud computing and hosting businesses in Austin for California-based Hewlett-Packard Co. and San Antonio-based Rackspace Hosting Inc."The high-tech talent in Austin is incredible, and that is why Codero wants to be here," Sayegh said. "The talent pool at UT, Rackspace, Dell and the cloud computing and hosting corridor between Austin and San Antonio is excellent. People also want to move to Austin. It's never been a hard sell for me in bringing anyone here."The company's Austin office will open in the next six months, starting with 12 employees and growing from there, Sayegh said.Sayegh was most recently the Austin-based vice president of cloud services for Hewlett-Packard and grew the company's Austin-based cloud division to 100 people.Before that, he was vice president and general manager of Rackspace's cloud computing division and helped open the company's Austin office, which now employs several hundred people."Emil is a high-energy strategic thinker and a goal-focused leader from the heart of the hosting and cloud computing industry," said Tyler Newton, Codero board chairman.Founded in 2009, Lenexa, Kan.-based Codero is backed by New York private equity firm Catalyst Partners. It has 50 employees and operates data centers in Chicago and Phoenix. It is planning a third data center in Virginia.The company provides hosting services to several thousand companies worldwide, ranging from small businesses to large financial services firms.Sayegh replaces Johathan Ewert, who will remain on the board.