Anomali Board of Directors appoints Ahmed Rubaie as new CEO

Anomali, the globally renowned company in intelligence-driven cyber security solutions, has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed industry veteran, Ahmed Rubaie as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and as a Board Member, effective from March 1, 2021.

Ahmed Rubaie will succeed Hugh Njemanze, who worked closely with the board to help drive this change. Njemanze will remain with the company in the capacity of President and as a member of the Board of Directors.

Cyber threat intelligence innovations

Njemanze will continue to drive the company’s leadership position as an innovator in the cyber security market

Hugh Njemanze became the Chief Executive Officer of Anomali, back in June 2014. Since then, he has led the company to rise as a recognised player in the security market through the introduction of new cyber threat intelligence and threat detection innovations.

Njemanze successfully guided the company through the extraordinary circumstances and challenges of the past year, and will now begin the new CEO on-boarding process, with the company well-positioned to continue to grow and drive value. He will continue to drive the company’s leadership position as an innovator in the cyber security market.

Global technology leadership expert

Ahmed Rubaie, a highly-respected Chief Executive Officer and industry veteran, has more than three decades of global technology leadership experience. In his prior roles, Rubaie has driven strategic expansion and diversification of businesses across markets, industries and customers, steering delivery of leading and differentiated solutions.

Rubaie has overseen the successful execution of growth transformation, including at Ariba, where he helped the company emerge from the 2008 recession to become the second most valuable Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company by 2012. At Sitecore, a global company in context marketing management software, Rubaie helped them succeed in a rapid growth transformation, while getting the company ready for the public markets.

Active in the cyber security space

Ahmed Rubaie has also been active in the cyber security space, including in private investments and board work. Rubaie holds a B.A. degree in Economics from Albion College and a J.D. degree from the University of Detroit - Mercy Law School. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Santa Clara University - Leavey School of Business, where he teaches the subject of Contemporary Business Issues.

“Together with Hugh Njemanze, the board worked to bring in a new Chief Executive Officer to drive the next phase of growth for the company. Ahmed is a proven technology leader with a distinguished track record of innovation, talent development, and a deep knowledge of operational execution. He is very customer centric and quite passionate about our space. He will continue a values-based cultural leadership approach with a focus on growing the Anomali threat intelligence and detection portfolio,” said Anomali Board Member, Dr. Steve Herrod.

Driving strategy to expand product portfolio

The board is confident that Ahmed will ensure execution of Anomali’s strategy to extend its product leadership position"

Dr. Steve Herrod, who also served as the Managing Director of General Catalyst, a venture capital and investment firm, adds “After thoughtful consideration, the board, together with Hugh Njemanze, concluded that now is the right time to make this leadership change and draw on Ahmed’s strategic and operational expertise to lead Anomali through this critical period of transformative growth.”

Steve further said, “The board is confident that Ahmed, together with the rest of the leadership team, will ensure execution of Anomali’s strategy to extend its product leadership position and to deliver on new innovations that will make intelligence-driven threat detection an effective part of every organisation’s security strategy.”

Innovation in extended detection and response solution

“I am thrilled to join and lead Anomali forward at this important time for the company, and our industry,” said Anomali’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ahmed Rubaie, adding “Anomali has been at the forefront of threat intelligence and I look forward to extending this position going forward. I have tremendous admiration for the company’s recent contributions to the global cyber security effort and am particularly excited about our differentiated innovation in the extended detection and response solution space.”

Ahmed Rubaie adds, “I believe Anomali has significant potential to continue to reshape the future of threat intelligence and detection and look forward to working with the incredibly talented global team to accelerate innovation and create value for our global customers and partners.”

Robust threat intelligence platform firm

Under his leadership, Anomali grew from a single product vendor into a robust threat intelligence platform company"

“The board and I deeply appreciate Hugh Njemanze for his leadership and significant contributions,” continued Anomali’s Independent Board Member, Tom Reilly, who is also the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ArcSight (Micro Focus) and Cloudera.

Tom Reilly adds, “Under his leadership, Anomali grew from a single product vendor into a robust threat intelligence platform company. Hugh has been instrumental in energising the company’s culture to drive better execution of our product roadmap, placing Anomali in a strong strategic and financial position. We thank him for his ongoing guidance as he works with Ahmed and the leadership team to extend our innovative product offerings and market leadership.”

Product strategy innovator

“I am excited to welcome Ahmed to the Anomali team. We are at a scale and period of growth where his operational skills will bring tremendous value to the company,” said Anomali’s President, Hugh Njemanze.

Hugh Njemanze adds, “I am excited to focus on my passion of industry direction, product strategy, and engaging with our valuable customers and partners. We will make a great team.”