Sophos brings in new CEO, CFO as it homes in on midmarket growth

Joe Levy, Jim Didine to take top jobs as cyber vendor seeks growth with MSPs

Cyber vendor Sophos has appointed Joe Levy as its new CEO, effective 15 February, with Jim Dildine named as the new CFO.

With nearly three decades of experience in cybersecurity, Levy (pictured) aims to expand Sophos' customer base, particularly focusing on the midmarket sector. He intends to collaborate closely with MSPs and channel partners to enhance cybersecurity defences against cyberattacks, which often target smaller organisations.

Levy stressed the importance of protecting the global economy from cyber threats by empowering midmarket organisations with better cybersecurity measures.

He stated: "When midmarket organisations – the global critical substrate – are paralysed due to ransomware or other cyberattacks, business activities linked in our supply chains also stagnate, slowing our economy down."

He plans to work towards making cybersecurity more accessible and effective for these organisations, which are often below the cybersecurity poverty line.

Levy further commented: "Our goal is to help more organisations in the midmarket – the estimated 99 per cent of organisations that are below the cybersecurity poverty line – be better at detecting and disrupting inevitable cyberattacks."

Dildine, who previously served as CFO at Imperva, brings extensive operational expertise to the cyber vendor.

Lead investor Thoma Bravo expressed confidence in Levy's leadership and welcomed Dildine's appointment as CFO.

"Thoma Bravo has worked with Joe through successful investments in SonicWall and Blue Coat Systems, and our relationship and experience together, coupled with his authentic style of leadership and impeccable reputation across the cybersecurity industry, make him the ideal CEO to lead this next chapter at Sophos," said Chip Virnig, a partner at Thoma Bravo and a Sophos board member.

"We're also excited that Jim is joining Sophos as CFO and is a member of Joe's senior management team. We've worked with Joe and Jim at various companies for well over a decade, and we're confident their combined expertise will reap big rewards for the future of Sophos."

Under Levy's leadership, with a focus on expanding its reach in the midmarket segment.

The company has been making overtures to the midmarket segment via the channel throughout the first half of this year.

In February, the vendor launched Partner Care, a new service under its partner programme, offering channel firms a dedicated, 24x7 team of Sophos experts who handle non-sales related questions and operational support.

In May, Sophos signed its largest EMEA distribution deal with Infinigate, gaining greater traction for Partner Care and expanding its presence with small and mid-sized MSPs.