San Jose, Calif. — February 2022
Vectra AI, a prominent leader in AI-driven threat detection and response for hybrid and multi-cloud enterprises, has officially announced the appointment of Willem Hendrickx as its new Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). This executive shift follows a year of exceptional growth for the company, driven by the accelerating global demand for advanced threat detection solutions.
The New CRO: Willem Hendrickx
In his new role as CRO, Hendrickx will take charge of Vectra’s global expansion initiatives while managing the entire lifecycle of its customers and partners. He is no stranger to the company, having previously served as Vectra’s Senior Vice President, International. During his tenure as SVP, he played a crucial role in transforming and expanding business operations across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) and APJ (Asia-Pacific and Japan) regions.
Hendrickx brings more than 25 years of experience in global software sales to the executive team. Throughout his career, he has held significant leadership positions at major technology companies, including:
- EMC / Dell
- Nokia
- Alcatel-Lucent
- Riverbed Technology
“The enterprise security market continues to move away from legacy preventative security solutions – and towards the advanced detection and response capabilities necessary to stop attackers in their tracks,” said Hendrickx regarding his new role. “Vectra continues to establish itself as a leading vendor to protect against the next wave of threats, and I am looking forward to continuing to grow our operations in existing and new regions”.
Leadership Perspectives on Global Expansion
Vectra AI’s President and CEO, Hitesh Sheth, highlighted the urgency of the current cybersecurity landscape as a major driver for the company’s momentum.
“In recent months, we have witnessed some of the most detrimental cyberattacks in our history,” Sheth noted. “Enterprises across the globe are rapidly adopting and deploying detection and response solutions to provide coverage across cloud, data center and SaaS environments”.
Sheth expressed his enthusiasm for Hendrickx’s promotion, stating that he will be instrumental in scaling the business globally and fostering a culture of disruptive and innovative thinking.
Strategic Moves: The Siriux Acquisition
Hendrickx takes over the CRO position from his predecessor, Marc Gemassmer. After successfully guiding Vectra AI through 20 months of high growth, Gemassmer is transitioning to a newly created role as the General Manager of Vectra’s identity and software as a service (SaaS) posture management business.
This transition directly supports Vectra’s recent acquisition of Siriux Security Technologies in January 2022. Gemassmer will partner with Aaron Turner, the founder and CEO of Siriux, to lead Vectra’s push into this critical new market.
Gemassmer emphasized the importance of this new direction, noting that the SaaS attack surface is expanding exponentially. The integration of Siriux positions Vectra AI as a unique vendor capable of securing SaaS configurations while unifying them with the active detection and response of threats within SaaS applications.