Sophos Appoints New CEO
Sophos, a world leader in protecting businesses against viruses, spyware and spam, has today announced the appointment of Steve Munford to the role of chief executive officer (CEO) worldwide, with immediate effect. As CEO, Munford will have executive responsibility for all aspects of running the company, which has more than 35 million users worldwide of its integrated threat management solutions.
Munford, who will continue to be based at Sophos’s headquarters near Oxford, has served as chief operating officer for the past nine months and steps up to drive strategic development at a time of great opportunity in the security market.
“Sophos is a global authority in IT security and we aim to exploit that strategic opportunity,” said Steve Munford, new CEO of Sophos. “Security threats are changing rapidly and Sophos is well placed to give leadership and grow strongly as the market evolves. I look forward to helping drive that development.”
Munford first joined Sophos in 2003, after its acquisition of the anti-spam specialist ActiveState, of which he was president. He then took the role of president of Sophos for North America and then COO for the group. Prior to his joining ActiveState, Munford held senior management positions at Seanix – the largest PC manufacturer in Canada, and at Coopers & Lybrand.
Sophos’s co-founders and former joint CEOs, Dr Jan Hruska and Dr Peter Lammer, will continue to serve as company board members.
“Sophos has now been going for exactly 20 years,” said Dr Jan Hruska, co-founder of Sophos. “Peter and I are very excited to have found a strong new CEO who will provide continuity of approach as well as new energy and focus.”
About Sophos
Sophos is a world leader in integrated threat management solutions, developing protection against viruses, spyware, spam and policy abuse for business, education and government. Headquartered in the UK, Sophos’s reliably-engineered, easy-to-operate products protect more than 35 million users in more than 150 countries. Through 20 years’ experience and a global network of threat analysis centres, the company responds rapidly to emerging threats – no matter how complex – and achieves the highest levels of customer satisfaction in the industry.