Palo Alto Networks announced on June 1, 2018, that Nikesh Arora would become CEO and chairman, succeeding Mark McLaughlin. The board had made the appointment decision on May 30, and Arora’s appointment took effect June 6. McLaughlin moved to vice chairman of the board.
When did Nikesh Arora take over?
The transition involved three separate dates. The company announced it publicly on June 1, 2018; the board’s appointment decision was made May 30, according to the SEC filing; and Arora’s appointment became effective June 6.
- May 30, 2018: The board decided to appoint Arora, according to the SEC Form 8-K.
- June 1, 2018: Palo Alto Networks announced the appointment and McLaughlin’s move to vice chairman in its appointment announcement.
- June 6, 2018: Arora’s CEO and chairman appointment took effect.
Who did Arora succeed, and what happened to McLaughlin?
Arora succeeded Mark McLaughlin as CEO and chairman. McLaughlin moved into the vice chairman role and described the handover in a June 4, 2018, letter: “As vice chairman, I will work with Nikesh on the transition and support the company as a customer facing resource.” He also said he was retiring as CEO and chairman after nearly seven years. The letter is available on the company blog, “Thank You NextWave Partners”.
In the June 1 announcement, McLaughlin welcomed Arora and said his record of growing and scaling businesses would be valuable to Palo Alto Networks. The announcement did not include a direct quote from Arora.
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What experience did Arora bring?
Palo Alto Networks described Arora as having served as president and chief operating officer at SoftBank and chief business officer at Google. The company said he helped grow Google’s search business from $2 billion to more than $60 billion in revenue, and had led more than 20,000 employees. Those figures are the company’s characterization in its 2018 announcement; the release does not specify the period for the revenue comparison.
What was happening at Palo Alto Networks at the time?
The leadership change came during a period of reported growth. In results released June 4, 2018, Palo Alto Networks said fiscal third-quarter 2018 ended April 30 and reported revenue of $567.1 million, up 31% year over year from $431.8 million. The company also reported billings of $721.0 million, up 33%, and deferred revenue of $2.2 billion, up 34%. These are results reported for the period, not evidence that the leadership appointment caused the growth. See the company’s fiscal third-quarter 2018 results.
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Is Arora Palo Alto Networks’ current CEO?
This article covers the 2018 succession announcement and establishes that Arora’s appointment took effect on June 6, 2018. It does not establish who currently holds the company’s CEO role.
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