Palo Alto appoints former Riverbed boss to head up channel

Dave Peranich will replace Mark Anderson who has been promoted to president

Security vendor Palo Alto Networks has appointed a new channel boss as part of an executive reshuffle.

Dave Peranich joins the California-based outfit as executive vice president of worldwide sales, having worked for nine years at Riverbed Technology.

Mark Anderson, who spent four years in the role, has been promoted to president and will focus on sales, go-to-market strategy, customer support and business development in his new role.

Mark McLaughlin, CEO at Palo Alto Networks, said: "Since inception, we have consistently designed the organisation for focus and capacity as we rapidly scale, significantly outpace industry growth rates, and quickly acquire market share.

"I am delighted with these appointments that will enable us to continue our march to be the leading global security company and seamlessly scale our organisation.

"I look forward to working with Mark and Dave for years to come."

At Riverbed, Peranich held roles including senior vice president of worldwide sales and executive vice president of worldwide field operations.

"I am thrilled and honoured to be joining Palo Alto Networks," he said.

"With our natively integrated and highly automated next-generation security platform, the company has delivered unprecedented growth to date and I look forward to leading the sales and channel organisation as we expand our global reach and redefine security in the digital age."