WatchGuard Snags Ex-SentinelOne COO Srivatsan as Interim CEO

The former chief operating officer of SentinelOne and chief strategy officer of Palo Alto Networks has been named interim leader of MSP security stalwart WatchGuard.

See Also: The Evolution of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

The Seattle-based SMB security provider tapped Vats Srivatsan to serve as interim CEO beginning Wednesday and tasked him with scaling WatchGuard’s platform, deepening partner engagement, and accelerating innovation across managed services, endpoint protection and hybrid network security. He replaces Prakash Panjwani, who had led WatchGuard since April 2015 and will remain a board member.

“I believe WatchGuard’s MSP-focused platform, strong culture and deep channel partnerships uniquely position the company to protect businesses around the world,” Srivatsan said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the entire WatchGuard team and our partner ecosystem to execute on our mission of simplifying cybersecurity and making it accessible to every organization.”

Srivatsan spent nearly three years as SentinelOne’s COO, a year as ColorTokens’ president and COO, and over two years as Palo Alto’s chief strategy officer. Prior to that, he spent nearly six years at Google, most of which was spent overseeing Google Cloud’s business strategy and operations. He will also join WatchGuard’s board of directors, which will conduct a public search for the company’s permanent COO.

“Vats brings a rare combination of strategic thinking, operational excellence and deep industry insight,” Vector Capital Managing Director Sandy Gill said in a statement. “He’s led transformative growth at some of the world’s most respected technology and cybersecurity companies, and we’re confident he will help WatchGuard continue executing on its vision.

Vector bought out joint investor Francisco Partners in July 2022 to become the majority owner of SMB-focused WatchGuard in a deal reportedly valuing the company at $1.5 billion. In 2022, Malwarebytes got a $100 million minority investment from Vector Capital to accelerate momentum with channel partners. Vector also put $50 million into Kela Group in 2018 for a 25% stake in the Israeli threat intel vendor.

How WatchGuard Fared During Panjwani’s Tenure

During Vector’s time as majority owner, WatchGuard made two acquisitions to push beyond its heritage in network security. WatchGuard in January bought managed detection and response startup StackRox to embrace an open platform strategy. In 2023, WatchGuard bought CyGlass to aid network detection and response features traditionally reserved for high-end enterprises to the midmarket via MSPs.

WatchGuard’s first big move outside the network came in March 2020, when the supplier bought Panda Security to add capabilities in endpoint detection and response, threat hunting, anti-virus, patching, email security and data compliance. All told, WatchGuard made six acquisitions during Panjwani’s tenure atop the company, and has grown its headcount by 27.8% since 2021 to 1,190 staff, IT-Harvest found.

“Prakash’s leadership over the past decade has been instrumental in transforming WatchGuard into a leading cybersecurity platform company,” Vector Founding Partner and Managing Director Alex Slusky said in a statement. “Few leaders leave the kind of legacy he has – shaping not only the company’s strategy, but also producing consistent strong performance and operational excellence.”

WatchGuard last year placed ninth in Forrester’s 10 vendor ranking of enterprise firewall solutions, besting only Forcepoint. The technology analyst firm praised WatchGuard for straightforward and simple pricing as well as ease of use and management of day-to-day operations, but said the firm has been slow to embrace cloud security and lacks automated alerting or notifications for shadow rules.

The company was recognized by IDC as a leader in endpoint security for midsize businesses alongside Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Trend Micro, Trellix, SentinelOne and Sophos. The analyst firm praised WatchGuard for having a comprehensive set of endpoint protection technologies but criticized the company for lacking its own SIEM or SOAR, which is important to high-end midsize firms.

“How do you leave a job you love, working with people you love, and doing something you love?” Panjwani wrote on LinkedIn. “The answer – you listen to your body and your mind. That answer may sound simple, but getting to it is anything but simple. It took a lot of introspection, brutally honest self-assessment, and ultimately, that moment of clarity when you just know what you have to do.”