potentially start implementing that
inside other business environments. We
are constantly advising organisations to
take a slightly different approach when
it comes to their online security.”Palo Alto Networks is the next-
generation security company, based in
Santa Clara in California. Its mandate
is to be a trusted advisor to
organisations, helping them with all of
their cybersecurity needs. While the
business might be headquartered in the
US, its global subsidiaries each have a
local feel, and it’s never a one-size-fits-
all approach. This rings just as true for
Asia–Pacific, the geographical area
Sean looks after. “People sometimes
think it’s a cookie-cutter method — that
we work in the US and then simply roll
out the ideas across the world,” Sean
says. “I disagree. The benefit we have in
being here is that we have a local
presence, so we understand the local
challenges and the marketplace. From
a threat perspective, these are localisedas well. There are so many different
cultures across Asia–Pacific so we need
to be sensitive to that and be open to
adapt and change.”Sean has been working in this industry
for more than eighteen years. He has
held a range of different roles,
everything from consulting services and
presales to development, technology
and strategy. His immediate role prior
to joining Palo Alto Networks was as
the Chief Technology Officer with Intel
Security Asia–Pacific. When Sean
stepped into the Vice President and
Regional Chief Security Officer role
with Palo Alto Networks in May 2015,
he says there were a number of
opportunities he saw for the company.“One was the culture here, which is so
evident across the world,” he shares.
“No matter how many times I pop into
a different office, everyone believes in
the mission and their purpose, which is
to protect people’s digital way of life.The second was that Palo Alto
Networks is a business that is doing
things in cybersecurity that have never
been done before. It is growing at an
amazing rate, and it’s a fairly young
company. Palo Alto Networks is
changing the status quo. I wanted to be
a part of that and see how I could drive
that even further across Asia–Pacific.”Education is the biggest area of focus
for Sean. Through Palo Alto Networks,
he wants to empower organisations and
business leaders to start changing the
conversation around cybersecurity.
“A lot of the time people think it is
someone else’s responsibility but it’s not,
we all have a shared responsibility to
tackle these issues and ultimately,
business risks,” he states. “If I think back
over the past couple of years, for a lot of
the security breaches that have taken
place in a variety of industries the
accountability was shared right across
the business; however, the knowledge
wasn’t shared. So that gets me thinking,EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW