Rubrik today announced the appointment of John W. Thompson, former Microsoft Chairman and former Symantec CEO, as the lead independent director of Rubrik’s Board.
“We’ve built an elite leadership team of cybersecurity experts across public and private sectors to better equip our customers in the ongoing battle against data threats such as ransomware,” said Bipul Sinha, CEO and Co-Founder of Rubrik. “John is a cybersecurity pioneer. His proven leadership and experience building iconic companies will help us continue to deliver data security innovations and define the future of cybersecurity.”
Thompson brings more than 40 years of leadership experience in the technology industry. He succeeded Bill Gates as Chairman of Microsoft’s board and now serves as the lead independent director. Previously, Thompson was the Chairman and CEO of Symantec and he currently serves as the Chairman of Illumina’s board. He joined Rubrik’s board of directors in 2018. In this expanded role, he will continue to help facilitate Rubrik’s mission to secure the world’s data.
“While data is the most important asset of every organisation, the traditional cybersecurity strategies have failed to protect data against modern cyberattacks such as ransomware,” said John W. Thompson. “In order to win this war on data, Rubrik is redefining the cybersecurity industry with data security that gives organisations business resilience. I’m honored to expand my role on Rubrik’s board and be a part of the company’s hyper-growth trajectory.”
According to the recent Rubrik Zero Labs State of Data Security report, more than 98% of organisations experienced a cyberattack in the past year, and more than half faced a ransomware attack. As ransomware attacks continue to grow in volume and sophistication, relying on infrastructure security alone has become insufficient. To effectively defend against cyberattacks, organisations must prioritize data security as part of a holistic cybersecurity strategy to help ensure they can quickly recover business-critical operations in the event of an attack.
“No company, regardless of size or industry, should be without a data resilience plan. Cyber criminals continue to target our schools, our hospitals, our government, and other critical infrastructure. Rubrik helps organisations quickly get back up and running after an attack,” said Asheem Chandna, Partner, Greylock and a founding investor of Palo Alto Networks. “John is an industry legend and we are excited to welcome him to the lead independent director role on Rubrik’s board of directors.”
“Cyberattacks are occurring at an alarming rate. To stay ahead of threats, the cybersecurity community must move fast to protect global organisations and the critical data we all rely on,” said Enrique Salem, Partner, Bain Capital and Netskope board member. “With John as the lead independent board director, Rubrik is in a strategic position to deliver on that promise.”
