CEO, Palo Alto Networks – 2018-present
With the exception of CrowdStrike’s George Kurtz, no cybersecurity CEO pulled in more nominations from the channel leaders involved in this project than Palo Alto Networks’ Nikesh Arora.
The India-born former Google and SoftBank high flier took on the top job in 2018 as a relative cybersecurity novice, and lacks the founder-CEO status of many of his peers.
But he won plaudits from our panel for sparking an industry-wide trend by transforming the NASDAQ-listed outfit into a platform cybersecurity player. Palo Alto Networks is now the largest and most valuable cybersecurity vendor in the world, turning Arora into a rare non-founder tech CEO billionaire.
Leadership style
In a recent interview, Arora spoke about the importance of making staff feel comfortable, excited and motivated, and acting consistently. He holds one or two meetings a week in which staff can “tell me what they’re thinking about the company, ask me questions, and tell me what’s going on in their lives”.
Low points
Palo Alto Networks hasn’t been immune to the deceleration in cyber growth, with its shares plunging by nearly a fifth in February as it lowered its full year guidance.
Killer quote
“I’d rather be boring and consistent than creative and constantly mercurial.” (taken from early 2024 interview)
What our panellists said about Arora
Maxine Holt, Senior Director, Research & Content, Omdia
“Nikesh Arora’s evolution and articulation of the vision of the cybersecurity platform has helped drive the industry to its current obsession with platforms and how they support the overworked SOC analyst.”
Mukesh Gupta, CEO, e92plus
“Nikesh has done an amazing job, firstly coming from investment banking and the telco sector to lead Palo Alto to a market valuation of over $100bn – showing that leadership skills are fully interchangeable, and IT should attract talent from every sector. Secondly, he’s taken on the traditional giants to become the clear cybersecurity market leader, in one of the most highly competitive sectors.”
Anonymous panellist
“Nikesh has proved himself to be a visionary in cybersecurity. He took the company on a journey from a traditional firewall vendor, into now being a company with a clear, leadership vision of where this technology is going. Their mission statement is very clear and effective: being the cybersecurity vendor of choice, protecting our digital way of life.”
How did IT Channel Oxygen compile The Century’s Greatest Vendor Leaders? See here
