Kaspersky announced the appointment of Chris Connell as Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Connell will spearhead the global cybersecurity company’s APAC business expansion efforts in addition to continuing his role as the Deputy Vice President of Global Sales for the company. Originally from the United Kingdom, he is set to be based in Kaspersky’s regional office in Singapore.
Connell joined Kaspersky as the GM for UK & Ireland in February 2019. In February 2020, alongside his role as Deputy VP of Sales Network, he was promoted to Director of European Operations, and took on the task of boosting the performance of the company’s European operations. Following this European reorganization Connell was responsible for one of Kaspersky’s burgeoning regions – Northern and Eastern Europe.
Overall, Connell has more than 23 years of professional experience in sales and commercial leadership in various companies and across many sectors, including solution selling, consumer, B2B and channel sales. Prior to joining Kaspersky, Connell’s career was spent at companies such as Ingram Micro Europe and Australia, Tech Data and IBM.
“I am excited to take up this new leadership role in a region where cybersecurity trends are dynamic but also diverse in terms of needs and development,” comments Connell. “While we will continue to deliver tailor-made cybersecurity solutions for both businesses and consumers, it is equally important that we pivot away from the traditional and reactive ‘seek-and-destroy’ approach to an all-encompassing concept of ‘cyber-immunity’ – building an ecosystem where everything connected is protected and secure by design.”
The expansion of Connell’ role at Kaspersky as the Managing Director for Asia-Pacific comes at a pivotal moment for the cybersecurity ecosystem in the region, where sector spending is projected to hit US$28.2 billion by 2022. Data breaches have become increasingly commonplace in the region, with incidents of patient records being stolen from group healthcare institutions, and privacy lapses suffered by tech giants such as online shopping and transportation companies, all occurring over the past year.
“True cybersecurity cannot be achieved in a silo, and the key to building a cybersecurity ecosystem that breaks free from the constraints of operating in different silos is one that is built on integrated and collaborative operations. I am confident that Chris’ wealth of expertise and thorough understanding of global cybersecurity trends will help to build a safer and more transparent environment for all in APAC,” adds Evgeniya Naumova, Vice President of the Global Sales Network at Kaspersky.
In his new post, Connell is expected to lend his expertise to shore up the cyber-resilience of APAC’s healthcare institutions. In addition, he will look to further develop and continue the growth in both commercial and enterprise cybersecurity, with a strong focus on threat intelligence for industry partners in the digital economy, as well as small and medium businesses (SMBs).
