McAfee appoints new CEO

Chief exec Young joins McAfee's private equity owner, with former Polycom boss taking the reins

McAfee has appointed former Polycom boss Peter Leav as its new CEO, with Chris Young joining McAfee's private equity backer TPG Capital.

Young headed up Intel's security division when it owned McAfee and he stepped into the CEO role when the two businesses were separated in 2017.

New chief exec Leav is currently a board member at Proofpoint, and was CEO of BMC Software for three years, departing in April 2019.

Prior to this he spent three years in charge at Polycom.

Leav said: "I am delighted to be joining McAfee at this exciting time for the company and am looking forward to working with the team to pursue the significant growth opportunities ahead.

"McAfee is one of the largest, most important cybersecurity brands in the world, with a commitment to innovation and excellence.

"By maintaining the forward-thinking, customer-centric approach that has come to define McAfee, I am confident that we will continue to play a very meaningful role in protecting individuals, businesses and communities from the rapidly changing cyber threat landscape."

Departing Young said he will remain involved with McAfee in an advisory capacity via his role as senior adviser at TPG.

He will stay at McAfee through a transitional period.

Young said: "It has been a privilege to work with the McAfee team, and I am very proud of the results we have delivered for our customers, partners, employees and investors."

Tim Millikin, partner at TPG Capital and McAfee board member, added: "We're proud of the progress McAfee has made since becoming a standalone company, and we thank Chris for his pivotal role through the first phase of McAfee's evolution.

"With a universally respected brand, an expanded enterprise product portfolio, successful strategic entries into cloud and mobile security, and a strong leadership team, McAfee is well positioned for continued growth under Peter's leadership."