Proofpoint, a leading cybersecurity and compliance company, has announced today the appointment of Sumit Dhawan as its new Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Dhawan joins Proofpoint to lead a new phase of growth at the company, while Rémi Thomas, who has been serving as interim CEO since October 25, will continue in his role as Chief Financial Officer of the company.
Proofpoint’s board of directors has expressed their excitement about Sumit Dhawan’s addition, highlighting his valuable experience and expertise in building and leading market-leading companies in the security, cloud, and end-user computing space. Seth Boro, Managing Partner at Thoma Bravo, commented, “Sumit brings valuable experience and expertise in building market-leading companies and businesses. We are confident that his customer-centric passion and strong leadership legacy will continue to further Proofpoint’s mission of providing people-centric cybersecurity solutions that address some of today’s most challenging risks faced by organizations.”
Sumit Dhawan is a respected technology leader with a proven track record in building market-leading companies. In his most recent role as President of VMware, Dhawan was responsible for achieving over $13 billion in revenue and led various key enterprise-related functions. Prior to that, he held high-level executive positions at companies such as Instart, VMware, and Citrix, where he also successfully established market-leading companies at scale.
Sumit Dhawan expressed his honor in joining Proofpoint, highlighting the company’s exceptional reputation and its trust as a cybersecurity partner to some of the world’s leading organizations. Dhawan stated, “I am honored to join a leader at the forefront of cybersecurity innovation and guide its continued and unwavering commitment to helping organizations worldwide protect people and defend data.”
In a recent move, Proofpoint announced a definitive agreement to acquire Tessian, a leading company in using advanced AI to automatically detect and protect against accidental data loss and email threats. This acquisition will expand Proofpoint’s offering to address data loss, including misdirected email and data leakage, further solidifying its position in the cybersecurity market.