Former McAfee CEO David DeWalt Joins FireEye as Chairman

FireEye, a Milpitas, California-based company focused on threat protection solutions, today announced that David DeWalt, former president and chief executive officer of McAfee, has joined the company as chairman of the board of directors.

DeWalt served as president, chief executive officer and director of McAfee from April 2007 until February 2011, after Intel’s surprise $7.68 billion acquisition of McAfee. DeWalt resigned from his role as President at McAfee in July 2011. At one point, DeWalt was rumored to be a candidate for the top spot at Palo Alto Networks, a position which was ultimately given to former VeriSign CEO, Mark McLaughlin.

From December 2003 to March 2007, DeWalt held executive positions with EMC, including serving as executive vice president and president customer operations and content management software. DeWalt has also held executive positions at technology companies including Oracle, Documentum, Intel, Segue Software, and Quest Software.

Today’s news follows an announcement last month that DeWalt joined Mandiant, a firm focused on security threat detection and response solutions.

Months after his departure from McAfee, it was announced in November 2011 that DeWalt had joined the board of directors at Delta Airlines. DeWalt also serves on the board of directors at Jive Software and Polycom. In May, 2011 he was appointed by President Obama to serve on the National Security Technology Advisory Council. 

“The security industry is at a pivotal moment given the unprecedented rate of cyber attacks compromising enterprises and government agencies,” said DeWalt. “The technology and talent at FireEye as well as the massive security problem they solve is what drew me here. I look forward to helping further accelerate their already explosive growth and redefine the model of IT security.”

“Dave is a great addition to the team. Not only does Dave have deep knowledge of the security industry, he also brings a wealth of strategic and operational experience leading fast-growth, innovative technology companies,” said Ashar Aziz, FireEye founder and chief executive officer. “His leadership as chairman of the board will be invaluable as we take FireEye into the next stage of our rapid growth.”

Other new additions to FireEye’s executive management team include Alexa King, VP, general counsel, and corporate secretary; Tom Schaeffer, VP of human resources; and Anthony James, VP of product management.

Bill Coughran, Sequoia Capital partner and former Google SVP of engineering has also joined the board. The company said that it has nearly tripled its revenue and headcount in 2011 and added hundreds of new customers in the past few quarters.