Sophos Announces Leadership Updates to Shape AI-Driven Future of Cybersecurity
Raja Patel named President among a set of leadership updates aligning AI across product, security, and go-to-market execution for measurable outcomes
OXFORD, United Kingdom, Feb. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced a set of leadership and organizational design updates to accelerate AI adoption, reinforce trust, and deliver measurably better outcomes for customers and channel partners in an era shaped by artificial intelligence.
As AI fundamentally reshapes both attack and defense strategies, organizational structure has become a decisive competitive weapon. Seamless alignment and communication across teams are more critical than ever: misaligned structures create friction, siloed intelligence, and slower innovation. Those gaps are increasingly exploited by adversaries and felt by customers struggling to separate substance from noise. Sophos’ updated design is a direct response to this reality, intentionally aligning teams, accelerating decision-making, and embedding AI across the business so innovation translates into clearer communication, more trustworthy outcomes, and greater confidence for customers making critical security decisions.
Product Innovation and Market Clarity
First in this transformation is Raja Patel, promoted from Chief Product Officer to President, Product and Marketing. In a market where exaggerated claims erode trust, Sophos is committed to delivering what it promises. Bringing Product and Marketing together under one leader creates a single, accountable engine for translating advanced, AI-powered security capabilities into clear, intelligible offerings across the entire customer lifecycle. This structure ensures that AI innovation integrates across teams to improve the journey from innovation to market impact. Both customers and partners benefit from faster feedback loops, outcomes-driven positioning, and solutions they can trust.
“Too often, companies are left to make sense of a fragmented security market where tools, claims, and outcomes don’t always line up,” Patel said. “Aligning product and marketing under a single operating model allows us to carry the voice of the customer from roadmap and innovation through awareness, delivery, and adoption. In doing so, customers see value across the entire lifecycle, while partners operate against a clear, scalable business model.”
An AI Vision Grounded in Reliability and Integrity
Building on this foundation, John Peterson has been promoted to Chief Technology Officer (CTO), leading Sophos AI vision and technical strategy. His team’s mandate extends beyond product execution, focusing on how AI will reshape software development, security operations, and organizational design over the next decade and beyond. Peterson will guide the evolution of engineering practices, reimagining workflows, developer behaviors, and toolchains to create significant “human + AI” productivity gains while maintaining an uncompromising focus on code quality, verifiability, explainability, and trustworthiness.
In an age when adversaries increasingly weaponize speed and scale, the need has never been greater for technology that not only advances rapidly but remains inherently reliable.
Extending AI Benefits Across the Business
To ensure AI transformation is pervasive across the business, Tony Young advances from Chief Information Officer to Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO). In this role, the CDIO will lead enterprise-wide AI adoption outside of product, most importantly driving efficiency and intelligence gains in go-to-market motions that directly improve speed, responsiveness, and value delivered to channel partners and customers.
Fiona Ho has been promoted from Vice President of Human Resources to Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). A long-time trusted leader within Sophos, Ho will lead talent transformation as AI becomes an expected capability in every role. Her focus is on ensuring employees can build durable, market-relevant skills as AI reshapes how work gets done. Working in close partnership with IT and Digital leadership, Ho will ensure Sophos employees are equipped, supported, and empowered to work effectively alongside AI systems, strengthening both employee confidence and the company’s long-term competitiveness.
By treating AI as a shared capability, Sophos aims to create a more transparent, consistent experience for partners and customers, while enabling employees to grow their skillsets and operate with greater clarity and confidence.
Security and Trust as the Bedrock
Reinforcing trust as the ultimate currency in cybersecurity, Simon Reed has been elevated from Chief Research and Scientific Officer to Chief Security Officer. In this role, Reed is responsible for ensuring that security and trust remain paramount in Sophos’ increasing adoption of AI across both its growing portfolio of security services and internal security efforts. This move underscores that in today’s environment, technical capability must be matched, and ultimately defined, by absolute integrity and trustworthiness at every level.
“Sophos is poised to shape the next era of cybersecurity,” said Joe Levy, CEO of Sophos. “These updates recognize proven leaders and the strength of their teams, who share a commitment to innovation, integrity, and customer success. Together, they accelerate our ability to deliver AI-powered cybersecurity technology and services that organizations can trust and that materially strengthen their security outcomes.”
About Sophos
Sophos is a cybersecurity leader defending 600,000 organizations globally with an AI-driven platform and expert-led services. Sophos meets organizations wherever they are in their security maturity and grows with them to defeat cyberattacks. Its solutions combine machine learning, automation, and real-time threat intelligence with frontline human expertise from Sophos X-Ops to deliver advanced, 24/7 threat monitoring, detection, and response. Sophos offers industry-leading managed detection and response (MDR) alongside a comprehensive portfolio of cybersecurity technologies — including endpoint, network, email, and cloud security, extended detection and response (XDR), identity threat detection and response (ITDR), and next-gen SIEM. Together with expert advisory services, these capabilities help organizations proactively reduce risk and respond faster, with the visibility and scalability needed to stay ahead of evolving threats. Sophos goes to market with a global partner ecosystem, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs), Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), resellers and distributors, marketplace integrations, and cyber risk partners, giving organizations the flexibility to choose trusted relationships when securing their business. Sophos is headquartered in Oxford, U.K. More information is available at www.sophos.com.
Media Contact: Kelly Archer Director Marketing Communications, Sophos PR@sophos.com
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