Optiv Security Appoints Dave DeWalt and  General (Ret.) David Petraeus to Board of Directors

-- New Vice Chairman and Director Bring Decades of Cyber Security Leadership Experience, Product Company Knowledge and Global Threat Intelligence Insight --

DENVER – September 7, 2017 - Optiv Security, a market-leading provider of end-to-end cyber security solutions, today announced two new appointments to its Board of Directors: Dave DeWalt, former FireEye and McAfee chief executive officer, who will serve as vice chairman of the board, and retired United States Army General David Petraeus. 

“Dave and Gen. Petraeus are experts in their respective domains and we are really excited to welcome them to Optiv’s Board of Directors,” said Dan Burns, Optiv chief executive officer. “A cyber security industry icon, Dave has a track record of building innovative, industry-leading technology companies. His experience advising Fortune 1000 CXOs and strong understanding of the heterogeneous platform delivery model are invaluable to Optiv, our partners and our clients in this new digital business environment.

“As a decorated retired U.S. Army commander and former CIA director, Gen. Petraeus brings to Optiv unique insight into the global threat intelligence landscape,” continued Burns.  “For years, Optiv has been working with local, state and federal government agencies to successfully apply innovative private sector security practices. Now, with Gen. Petraeus as an advisor, we can step up our efforts and do even more for our country. Our lab capabilities are ideal for helping federal, government and non-governmental entities vet technologies and diffuse new threats as they are discovered.” 

DeWalt has more than 25 years in the technology space, holding a series of leadership positions in some of the industry’s most innovative and successful companies. He most recently served as FireEye’s chief executive officer. Previously, DeWalt was McAfee’s president and chief executive officer, and led the acquisition of McAfee by Intel for $7.7 billion in 2010. Prior to McAfee, DeWalt served in a number of executive positions at EMC Corporation. He also has held top leadership positions at Documentum, Quest Software, Segue and Oracle Corporation.

Gen. (Ret.) Petraeus is a Member of KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which integrates geopolitical and global trends expertise, macroeconomic analyses, and environmental, social and governance issues and opportunities into KKR’s investment process. Prior to joining KKR, Gen. Petraeus served more than 37 years in the U.S. military, including command of coalition forces in Iraq, command of U.S. Central Command, and command of coalition forces in Afghanistan. Following his service in the military, Gen. Petraeus served as the director of the CIA. 

With the appointments of DeWalt and Gen. Petraeus, Optiv’s board currently consists of six members, including: Dan Burns, Optiv’s chief executive officer; Herald Chen, head of KKR’s Technology investment team, who serves as chairman of the board; John Park, member of KKR’s Technology industry team; and Anushka Sunder, principal in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group. 

Optiv is continuing to build its Board of Directors and client advisory board with top cyber security experts. The company also is expanding its platform with new innovations with next generation security operations center (SOC), and orchestration and automation that meet clients’ ever-expanding global needs.