The man who helped build Palo Alto’s Cortex is leaving the company
Gonen Fink is stepping down after a decade at the cybersecurity giant, ending his tenure as head of its Israeli R&D center.
Cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks announced a leadership change at its Israeli R&D operation on Wednesday, with Gonen Fink stepping down as head of the Israel R&D center and leaving the company after roughly a decade.
Fink played a central role in building Cortex, Palo Alto Networks’ security operations business, and in expanding the company’s presence in Israel. The company’s Israeli operation has grown substantially over the years through both organic expansion and acquisitions of Israeli cybersecurity companies.
Fink most recently served as Executive Vice President of Cortex and Cloud Products and head of the Israel R&D center. His tenure included the development and expansion of Cortex products including Cortex XDR and XSIAM, with the Israeli R&D center playing a major role in their development.
The center has continued to expand through acquisitions. Following Palo Alto Networks’ acquisition of CyberArk, Fink said the combined operation had become the largest cybersecurity R&D center in Israel, bringing together teams working on Cortex, network security, Unit 42 and identity security.
Fink will be replaced by Danny Cohen, EVP of Cortex Security Products, and Peretz Regev, EVP of Product and Technology at Idira, who will jointly lead the R&D center and its management team.
Fink joined Palo Alto Networks following the company’s acquisition of LightCyber, where he was CEO. Before that, he was one of the early employees at Check Point.
His departure marks the end of a decade in which Palo Alto Networks’ Israeli operation evolved from a relatively small R&D center into a major hub for the company’s cybersecurity products.
