Palo Alto Networks, the network security company, today announced that Michael E. Lehman has been appointed chief financial officer. Lehman brings more than 35 years of senior-level financial management experience with technology companies, including CFO roles at Sun Microsystems.
As Palo Alto Networks’ first CFO, Lehman will oversee its finance, accounting, and manufacturing functions. Lehman joins the company at a time of rapid growth; the company recently passed the 1,100 customer mark in less than three years of product availability and continues to expand its presence in enterprise networks worldwide ahead of the global economic recovery.
"Michael Lehman achieved worldwide recognition as Sun Microsystems’ CFO, helping Sun manage through several business cycles to achieve a record of consistent growth," said Lane M. Bess, CEO, Palo Alto Networks. "His financial acumen is a perfect match for Palo Alto Networks at this stage in our development, and will be of immense value when the company enters the public markets."
Lehman joins Palo Alto Networks from Sun Microsystems, where he served two stints as chief financial officer, after joining the company in 1987, and was responsible for its finance, legal, real estate, public policy, corporate planning/strategy, and information resources functions. Before joining Sun, Lehman was a senior manager in the San Francisco office of Price Waterhouse, the international accounting firm.
"Palo Alto Networks’ unique value proposition—delivering next-generation firewalls that revolutionize network security—has allowed it to grow despite the worst economic conditions of the last 20 years," said Lehman. "Palo Alto Networks is one of the fastest growing and most exciting companies in the networking and security industry, and I look forward to helping manage its growth as it continues to expand globally."
Lehman received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin in 1974. He is a member of the Finance MBA advisory board of the Graduate School of Business at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a board member of the University of Wisconsin Foundation, and a director of MGIC Investment Corporation.
About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks™ is the network security company. Its next-generation firewalls enable unprecedented visibility and granular policy control of applications and content – by user, not just IP address – at up to 10Gbps with no performance degradation. Based on patent-pending App-ID™ technology, Palo Alto Networks firewalls accurately identify and control applications – regardless of port, protocol, evasive tactic or SSL encryption – and scan content to stop threats and prevent data leakage. Enterprises can for the first time embrace Web 2.0 and maintain complete visibility and control, while significantly reducing total cost of ownership through device consolidation. For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.
Palo Alto Networks, “The Network Security Company,” the Palo Alto Networks Logo and App-ID are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States. All other trademarks, trade names or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
