Middle East, September 13, 2010 – Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT) – a leading network security provider and a worldwide leader of unified threat management (UTM) solutions – today announced the appointment of Luca Simonelli as Vice President of Sales, EMEA. As a sales and security industry veteran, Simonelli brings strong field experience to the role, which will help further accelerate Fortinet’s high-value business throughout the region.
“I am very pleased to have received this promotion, which is a strong sign of recognition for the results I achieved at Fortinet in the last six years. I am very excited about the challenges I will have to face in managing new European territories, such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany. My priority will be to further drive high-end market penetration, with a strong focus on key verticals such as telco, finance and government.”
Simonelli joined Fortinet in 2004. He opened Fortinet’s Italian subsidiary, which, under his stewardship, achieved a market leadership position in just three years. He then successfully managed a broader territory which included Greece, Turkey, Russia and Romania, with responsibility for defining business strategies to establish Fortinet as a key security vendor in those countries. Appointed vice president of SEE MEA in 2008, Simonelli extended his responsibilities to the Iberia region, the Middle East and Israel. Simonelli began his career as engineer at Sogei Spa Systems, and, prior to joining Fortinet, was regional director at Attachmate.
“Luca has all of the skills, energy and leadership required to manage the EMEA team and help grow our business in the region. He has a very strong record at Fortinet and I am convinced that his expertise will help us consolidate our leadership in the security market,” said Patrice Perche, Senior Vice President of international sales and support at Fortinet.
