Netskope Names Christian Apostolou to Lead U.S. Federal Sales and Kiersten Todt as a CxO Advisor

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Jan 16, 2024, 07:45 ET

Netskope expands leadership team following recent FedRAMP^® High Authorization achievement, ahead of January 24 SASE Summit in Washington DC

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Netskope, a leader in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), today announced the appointment of two seasoned United States public sector leaders as part of its commitment to a strategic growth path for Federal: Christian Apostolou to lead U.S. Federal Sales; and former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Chief of Staff Kiersten Todt to Netskope as a CxO Advisor.

Apostolou brings to Netskope more than 25 years of experience in the technology industry serving both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining Netskope, he managed the Federal Sales team at Forcepoint, where he focused on selling the commercial product portfolio into the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Civilian agencies.

Todt will be a CxO Advisor, having most recently served as the Chief of Staff at CISA. In this role, she was responsible for the planning, allocation of resources, and development of long-range objectives in support of the department's goals and milestones, providing strategic vision, guidance, and direction to ensure CISA's Director be prepared to interdict or respond to threats to the homeland. Prior to CISA, she served as Managing Director of the Cyber Readiness Institute, as CEO of Liberty Group Ventures, and, in 2016, as Executive Director of President Obama's independent, bipartisan Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity.

As a CxO Advisor for Netskope, Todt will apply her extensive cybersecurity experience to support Netskope's expanding Federal business as well as help guide Netskope's work with the federal government and other customers as the company navigates mission-critical security and network transformation projects.

Both Apostolou and Todt will be featured speakers at Netskope's Washington DC SASE Summit on January 24.

"We are thrilled to welcome Christian and Kiersten to our growing team as we continue to serve the network and security transformation needs of customers across the public sector," said John Giacomini, Senior Vice President of Sales, North America, Netskope. "Their respective depths of expertise and proven leadership will greatly impact mission success and help move us forward in protecting and servicing our nation's federal government agency customers and partners."

Today's announcement follows recent news of Netskope GovCloud receiving the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) authorization at Impact Level "High" on the FedRAMP Marketplace. The Authority to Operate (ATO) at the FedRAMP High Impact Level was announced January 9 and issued with sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Netskope GovCloud, leveraging the strength of Netskope Intelligent SSE powered by its Zero Trust Engine, provides federal agencies unrivaled visibility and real-time data and threat protection across web and cloud applications wherever they are.

"Netskope GovCloud and the strength of our capabilities are well regarded across public sector agencies, and I see tremendous opportunity for Netskope's services," said Apostolou. "In speaking with members of Netskope leadership and various functions within the business, it quickly became clear to me that Netskope has a unique alignment of product fit, culture fit, and market viability showing something special to be part of and contribute to."

"The federal government recognizes and emphasizes the importance of a secure cloud infrastructure and appreciates the necessary collaboration between government and industry to achieve this security. Netskope's capabilities and FedRamp High ATO can support implementation of the government's cloud priorities," said Todt, whose keynote at the January 24 SASE Summit will discuss the current geopolitical climate and how it is impacting the country's approach to cybersecurity.

The marquee one-day event will demonstrate how Netskope helps security, network, and infrastructure teams come together to build a better network and security stack based on a SASE framework, providing an environment of enhanced security, efficiency, and innovation, and offering tailored solutions adept at meeting the nuanced demands of both public and private sectors.

Attendees of the SASE Summit will have the opportunity to:

Learn from seasoned practitioners how to navigate through industry complexity and build a robust SASE and Zero Trust Architecture
Discover strategies to safeguard data within AI tools like ChatGPT, ensuring organizations stay ahead in data protection
Gain insights into crafting a more innovative IT environment tailored to the distinctive needs of both Federal and commercial sectors through tailored SASE solutions
Network with peers and industry professionals

Register Today for the Netskope Washington DC SASE Summit

About Netskope
Netskope, a global SASE leader, helps organizations apply zero trust principles and AI/ML innovations to protect data and defend against cyber threats. Fast and easy to use, the Netskope platform provides optimized access and real-time security for people, devices, and data anywhere they go. Netskope helps customers reduce risk, accelerate performance, and get unrivaled visibility into any cloud, web, and private application activity. Thousands of customers trust Netskope and its powerful NewEdge network to address evolving threats, new risks, technology shifts, organizational and network changes, and new regulatory requirements. Learn how Netskope helps customers be ready for anything on their SASE journey, visit netskope.com.

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