Spotlight: CXO movements this week (June 8 - June 14)

The week of June 8-14, 2024, witnessed a handful but significant CXO movements in the tech industry. Global technology firms such as Cisco, Comviva and Sophos made important announcements in key business positions. Movements also happened in non-IT firms such as Adani Green Energy. Here’s the roundup:

Cisco names Sean Duca as its new CISO for the APJC region

Sean Duca has been appointed as the new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Practice leader for the Asia Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC) region at IT networking company Cisco. With over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and leadership, Duca will be responsible for leading cybersecurity initiatives for the customer experience (CX) team in APJC. Sean Duca has been named the new CISO and Practice leader for the APJC region at Cisco. With over 20 years of cybersecurity experience, he will lead cybersecurity initiatives for the CX team in APJC. Duca previously worked at Palo Alto Networks for nine years and at Intel Security for 15 years, where he played key roles in developing security strategies and collaborating with customers. At Cisco, Duca is excited about the growth potential for innovative and secure solutions. He aims to reconnect with partners and customers to assist them in achieving their security and business goals, while also maximising the value of their Cisco investment. (Read more)

Comviva appoints senior executives to drive business expansion

Comviva has made strategic appointments of key executives to drive business expansion in Europe and North America. This decision aims to accelerate growth and strengthen client relationships in the rapidly evolving digital economy. The appointment of these executives comes shortly after Rajesh Chandiramani assumed the role of CEO and Whole-time Director, taking over from Manoranjan Mohapatra, who retired in May after a successful tenure. Mohapatra will continue to serve on Comviva's board as a non-executive director.

Ian Paul Smith is appointed to head the Direct Business Market Unit for North America at Comviva. With his background in sales leadership at top technology firms, he will focus on building partnerships with telecommunications companies in the region to drive growth.

Comviva has split the European market into two sub-regions, Europe 1 and Europe 2. Salah Rich will lead Europe 1, overseeing markets in France, Iberia, Italy, and Eastern European countries. Rishi Ramphal has been appointed as the Head of the Europe 2 sub-region. Ramphal, formerly the CIO of MTN Group, will oversee direct sales operations in growth markets such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Nordics, UK, and Ireland.  (Read more)

Sophos names Joe Levy as its new CEO, Jim Dildine as CFO

Sophos, the cybersecurity company, has recently announced the appointment of Joe Levy as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Levy, who has been serving as the acting CEO since February 15, took over from Kris Hagerman. Levy's primary responsibility will be to drive the execution of Sophos' strategic vision. Levy brings with him almost three decades of experience in cybersecurity product development and leadership. During his nine-year tenure at Sophos, he successfully transformed the company from a product-only vendor into a global cybersecurity giant. This transformation included the establishment of an incident response team and a managed detection and response (MDR) service, which now protects over 21,000 organisations worldwide. He has also worked with managed security providers (MSPs) and channel partners, which he began in the mid-1990s as a cybersecurity practitioner and innovator at a value-added reseller.

Additionally, the company has named Jim Dildine as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Dildine has a strong background in channel partner-based cybersecurity business. He joins Sophos from Imperva, where he served as CFO for over four years. Prior to Imperva, Dildine held the position of CFO for Symantec's $2.5 billion enterprise security business unit and played key financial leadership roles at Blue Coat Systems. (Read more)

Adani Green Energy appoints a new cybersecurity head

Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL) has appointed Divan Raimagia as its new Head of Cybersecurity. As Head of Cybersecurity, Divan will be in charge of strategic cybersecurity projects that defend AGEL’s OT and IT systems against new threats, including protecting confidential data assets. Raimagia joins his new post with a wealth of knowledge and insight from his more than 16 years of considerable experience in leadership capacities across numerous sectors. His professional background includes notable positions at RNSB Bank, IBM, Orange Business Service, HCL Tech, Wipro, and Wipro, where he excelled in strategic vision and leadership. As Head of Cybersecurity, Raimagia will be in charge of strategic cybersecurity projects that defend AGEL’s OT and IT systems against new threats, including protecting confidential data assets. In addition, he will make it a top priority to comply with data privacy laws and guarantee national infrastructure security under AGEL’s jurisdiction. 

Firstsource Solutions announces Sohit Brahmawar as President & COO

RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company Firstsource Solutions, a provider of Business Process Management (BPM) services, announced the appointment of Sohit Brahmawar as President & Chief Operating Officer, effective June 2024. An industry expert with over 25 years of extensive experience across global organisations, Brahmawar has a strong track record of leading, growing, and transforming large engagements, building high-performance teams and fostering lasting client relationships.  Brahmawar joins Firstsource from Tech Mahindra, where he served as Chief Delivery Officer, leading a global team of over 50,000. During his 15-year tenure, he played a pivotal role in scaling the business to nearly $1 billion in revenue. Previously, at vCustomer, Brahmawar spearheaded the company's entry into Domestic BPO and led the Hi-Tech vertical. He began his career in the Merchant Marine, spending six years on Oil/LPG tankers with GE Shipping.