Palo Alto Networks has appointed KP Unnikrishnan  as chief marketing officer effective 4 March. He will be based in the company’s Santa Clara headquarters and report directly to Palo Alto Networks chairman and CEO, Nikesh Arora.

According to the release, Unnikrishnan will lead the global marketing team to further strengthen the positioning of Palo Alto Networks. The transition comes at a time when Palo Alto Networks is positioned to help customers consolidate their security architectures and support them in their network transformation journey.

He most recently served as vice president, marketing, for Asia Pacific and Japan for over four years. He have worked at the cybersecurity firm for almost a decade. He also held positions of senior director of marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan, as well as the marketing director for Asia Pacific.

Zeynep Ozdemir was the previous CMO. She has decided to step away from her related responsibilities for personal reasons. Zeynep played a key role in helping achieve in a short period what very few marketers have done in their careers by building a globally recognised brand in the cybersecurity industry with Palo Alto Networks, the release said.