Cloud security specialist Sysdig has announced the appointment of William Welch as its new CEO, replacing outgoing chief executive Suresh Vasudevan.
A seasoned veteran in the cybersecurity field, Welch arrives with more than 30 years’ experience in operationalizing and scaling product development, customer experience, talent acquisition, and strategic alliances.
Most recently, he served as president and COO of Talkdesk and has previously held senior executive roles at cybersecurity companies such as Duo Security, Zscaler, and Symantec.
In an announcement, Sysdig said the appointment will help accelerate the firm’s growth trajectory and expand its global impact in the cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) market. Welch also joins the company’s board of directors.
“What became clear early on in the CEO search is that Bill is a public company executive with a remarkable track record for driving growth across leading security organizations,” commented Loris Degioanni, Sysdig founder and CTO.
“His expertise in scaling innovative technology platforms, deep understanding of the security sector, and customer-first focus makes him uniquely suited to serve as Sysdig’s next CEO.”
During his time at Zscaler, Welch is credited with leading the company to considerable revenue growth, leading to an industry-leading public offering and an almost $32 billion market capitalization today.
As president and COO of Duo Security, the security veteran also helped secure a $2.35 billion merger transaction with connectivity giant Cisco.
“Having worked with Bill at Symantec, I know first-hand his commitment to capitalizing on market opportunity and strong technologies to cultivate customer obsession,” added Enrique Salem, Sysdig board member and partner at Bain Capital Ventures.
“With Bill at the helm, Sysdig is poised to dominate the next wave of cloud security.”
What’s in store for Welch and Sysdig?
As CEO, Welch will lead Sysdig’s growth and global footprint ambitions as it looks to capitalize on the rapidly accelerating cloud security market, which is projected to reach $43.74 billion by the end of this year and surpass $63 billion by 2028.
Over the last year, Sysdig has laid the foundations for further growth by fortifying relationships with major global brands such as Goldman Sachs, Bloomreach, Calendly, SupportLogic, and BigCommerce, as well as adding new customers across more than a dozen countries.
During his first 90 days as CEO, Welch will meet the company’s global network of customers, partners, prospects, and industry analysts, as he looks to build on the firm’s progress.
“When it comes to cloud security, seconds matter – not just for detecting threats but also regarding how we show up for our customers, partners, and prospects,” Welch commented.
“Sysdig’s incredible team and thoughtful, technologically superior IP is built to solve the challenges of securing the cloud and not retrofitted to meet them. I’m honored to lead Sysdig in redefining the standard of cloud security.”
