A flurry of moves in the June tech C-suite had some new appointments—and one surprising poach from Saviynt.
Let’s get into it.
Saviynt snags Steve Blacklock from Palo Alto Networks
Identity security firm Saviynt appointed Steve Blacklock as its new SVP of global partners and channel chief, plucking him from Palo Alto Networks. In a June 24 announcement, Saviynt said Blacklock “will lead all aspects of Saviynt’s global partner organization” in order to build out the company’s global footprint.
“It is a pivotal moment for the company, and I’m looking forward to helping grow the team and broaden the partner ecosystem to include multiple types of advisory, solutions, and technology partners,” Blacklock said in a statement.
Blacklock was at Palo Alto for just over two years as VP of North America global systems integrators and managed service providers after a similar length stint at Icertis as VP of business development. Prior to joining Icertis, Blacklock spent nine years at Citrix as VP of global strategic alliances, part of a 30-plus year career in the tech space.
Amar Subramanya leaves Google Gemini as part of teamwide shakeup
The team behind Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, was down its head of engineering this month as Amar Subramanya departed during a larger organizational shakeup. According to The Information, which reported on Subramanya’s departure on June 16, some Gemini teams will be folded into DeepMind as the Gemini team looks to streamline its operations.
The Information also reported that DeepMind Head of Product Mat Velloso left the company at around the same time as Subramanya. As for Subramanya, his next role is unclear. He has worked for Google for the last 16 years, moving up the ladder from staff research scientist.
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HackerOne turns to Nidhi Aggarwal as new chief product officer
In search of a new CPO, HackerOne turned to entrepreneur Nidhi Aggarwal, who spent the past 13 years co-founding two companies, Qwiklabs and Radical Product. Her appointment, CEO Kara Sprague said in a statement, “will accelerate HackerOne’s leadership in the AI era.”
Prior to co-founding Qwiklabs in 2012 (and then selling it to Google in 2016) and Radical Product in 2017, Aggarwal worked for prominent firms including McKinsey, Hewlett Packard, and Tamr.
Simon Pettit is UiPath’s new AVP for Ireland and the UK
Ireland and the UK have long been leaders in the tech space, so it makes sense that a company like UiPath, which specializes in robotics software and automation, would target the region for development. To that end, it brought on tech veteran Scott Pettit as the new area vice president for the two countries. The move is an internal hire; Pettit has been with UiPath for over six years.
Pettit’s role will include “overseeing region specific transformation projects, accelerating operational growth, and strengthening customer engagement,” according to the UiPath announcement of his appointment. Pettit noted that the region is “striving to be globally positioned as an AI superpower” and is a ripe target for expansion.
After leaving the Royal Navy in 1999, Pettit entered the tech sector, most notably spending over 15 years with data infrastructure firm NetApp.