WatchGuard Appoints Vincent Hwang as CPO to Accelerate Platform Strategy and AI-Driven Innovation

• 10 Jul 2026
• TM Team
• 0 Comments

WatchGuard Technologies, a global leader in unified cybersecurity for managed service providers (MSPs), announced the appointment of Vincent Hwang as Chief Product Officer, reporting to CEO, Joe Smolarski. 

Hwang joins WatchGuard at a pivotal moment as the company sharpens its platform and AI innovation strategies to help MSPs simplify operations, reduce tool sprawl, and deliver stronger security outcomes at scale. With deep expertise across cloud, endpoint, network, and SecOps, he will lead the next phase of WatchGuard’s product evolution, focused on making enterprise-grade protection easier to deploy, manage, and monetise for partners serving the midmarket, while advancing AI-driven capabilities that help MSPs operate and scale more efficiently.  

“Vince brings a rare combination of deep cybersecurity expertise and the ability to turn product strategy into real market momentum,” said Joe Smolarski, CEO at WatchGuard Technologies. “He understands our partners, knows how to build platforms that align with how they operate, and has consistently delivered growth by connecting innovation with real-world outcomes. That’s exactly what WatchGuard needs in this next phase of growth.” 

Hwang brings over two decades of experience as a visionary Cybersecurity product executive, building and scaling cybersecurity products across some of the industry’s most influential companies. He joins WatchGuard from Fortinet, where he led their Cloud Security business, delivering consistent double-digit growth.  

Prior to Fortinet, Hwang played a key role in advancing modern threat protection at Sourcefire and Cisco, where he contributed to the development of early endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities and helped shape Cisco’s advanced malware protection and Zero Trust strategies. Previously, he served as CPO at Bitdefender, leading their global product organisation including product management and engineering.  

“WatchGuard has a unique opportunity to define what modern cybersecurity looks like for MSPs and their customers,” said Hwang. “The market is at an inflection point: partners are consolidating vendors and looking for platforms that simplify operations while keeping pace with evolving threats. I’m excited to build on WatchGuard’s strong foundation and accelerate a product strategy that delivers both operational efficiency and meaningful security outcomes.”