Security vendor Netskope has named David Fairman as its first chief information officer for Asia-Pacific and Japan.

Fairman was promoted from APAC chief security officer, a role he has held since joining the company in 2020.

The appointment comes following the vendor’s hiring of a CIO for its EMEA region with the Germany-based Ilona Simpson. Fairman’s hiring also prompted Netskope’s establishment of a global CIO organisation.

“We want to help enterprises and governments re-architect their environments for a cloud-first, Zero Trust-ready world, ultimately allowing their people to be secure and productive while working from anywhere,” Netskope global chief digital and information officer Mike Anderson said.

“To do that, we need a team of international experts who have walked in the shoes of the CIOs we support. We are very excited that David is taking on an expanded role as regional CIO to bring his experience to enterprises all across Asia Pacific and Japan.”

Before joining Netskope, Fairman was chief security officer at National Australia Bank from 2018 to 2020, Group CISO at Royal Bank of Canada from 2015 to 2018, global head of technology risk and control at JP Morgan Chase and Co from 2011 to 2014 and CISO of the Americas unit of the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Fairman is also currently an adjunct professor at Deakin University, and is on the boards of a number of cybersecurity startups and venture capital firms across Australia.

Speaking on his new role, Fairman said, “Forward-thinking CIOs are experiencing first-hand the ways that security should evolve from being an obstacle to being a true business enabler.

“I believe the right balance among security, performance, and business value is a major challenge, but also more achievable than ever before if organisations make the right investments in people, processes, and technology.

“I look forward to working hand-in-hand with enterprise and government leaders throughout Asia Pacific and Japan to deliver their goals and sharing my knowledge and experience to help our customers solve these challenges.”