Brendon Thwaites (Palo Alto Networks)
Palo Alto Networks Asia Pacific head of distribution, Brendon Thwaites, has parted ways with the employer he spent six years with, as he looks toward a future in consultancy.
Thwaites told ARN he intends to take a six-month break from 8 April 2016, before returning to the workforce in a consulting capacity assisting channel players in the Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) market.
“I feel I have left a competent group of people around me and now is the right time to step aside,” he said.
Thwaites also said he has had some input in choosing his successor but conceded the company may look to restructure or redefine the position depending on needs and requirements.
He has also offered to act as a volunteer for the Palo Alto Networks user group for the immediate future.
Thwaites has held numerous senior leadership positions at Palo Alto Networks during his six-year stint with the vendor including head of channels for Australia and New Zealand, a brief stint as acting country manager.
Prior to Palo Alto, Thwaites also held senior leadership roles at F5, ITX Group, Regal IT amongst others.
Thwaites was at the helm of the company's local distribution activities during the launch of an updated version of its partner program in April 2016, which included new differentiation and specialisations.
The company’s worldwide channels senior vice-president, Ron Myers, said at the time that the changes included pre-sales training within the enablement framework, pre-sales, sales and post-sales individual accreditations and certifications.
It also included nine pre-sales specialisations with different levels and expertise (within cyber security, platform, endpoint, mobile, and datacentre) by role (foundation, associate and professional), and TRAPS advanced endpoint specialisation.
The news of Thwaites’ departure comes after the company’s recent hire of former Check Point exec Philip Dimitriu to lead its systems engineering team in A/NZ.
Palo Alto had not responded to request for comment at the time of publication.
