L-R: Simon Ractiffe, Paul Digby (Qualys)
Qualys has expanded its operations in Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) through the appointment of Simon Ractliffe as regional vice president and Paul Digby as its first channel director.
Ractliffe comes into the role from his consultancy business The Protection Detection and Response Company (PDRCo) and has also previously worked at LMNTRIX, as well as the Singtel-owned Optus and Trustwave, spending nearly two years at the latter two organisations.
In addition, he also did time at Dell’s SecureWorks, IBM and Cabletron Systems.
“The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 and its recent amendments highlight the need for organisations to have the right people, processes and technologies in place to eliminate security blind spots and remain compliant," Ractliffe said. "I look forward to leading the team and working with our customers and partners to help them on this journey."
LMNTRIX CEO Carlo Minassian confirmed in a statement that Ractliffe had taken up the role with Qualys, stating that he had worked with the cyber security firm as a consultant, where he "significantly contributed to our local and global reach where global revenue now significantly outstrips our domestic revenues".
“Simon was keen to focus his work on the Australian market and recently accepted a full time role leading the Qualys business. We had been discussing the move for many months and we will keep in contact as we have done for over two decades,” he said.
Meanwhile, Digby will be working alongside the cloud security and compliance software vendor’s partners to help with digital transformation projects and achieve business goals.
His employment history partially reflects Ractliffe’s, with his most recent position being at Optus as its head of cyber security partnerships. Prior to that, he held a three-year stint as head of cyber alliances for the Pacific region at Trustwave.
In all, Digby has worked at Optus for 19 years and at Trustwave for three years.
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Qualys labelled the appointments as a “fundamental” part of its growth and investment in A/NZ.
Additionally, Ractliffe’s and Digbys collective local market knowledge is also expected to strengthen the vendor’s capability in helping customers comply with cyber security regulatory mandates for the infrastructure industry.
“Simon is well established in the cyber community and brings a customer-focused approach that is precisely what we need to continue to accelerate growth in the A/NZ region,” said Allan Peters, chief revenue officer at Qualys.
“With Simon and Paul’s expertise, we’re well-positioned to help customer’s secure their IT environment and reduce cyber risk.”
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