Palo Alto CEO says firm still committed to investing in Israel, even after US-Israeli founder left

Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora says the cybersecurity giant remains committed to investments in Israel even after American-Israeli founder Nir Zuk stepped down earlier this year.

“One of the things I’ve learned in life is that you can’t separate the company from its founder,” Arora says at a press conference in Tel Aviv. “Our commitment to Israel has not changed despite the fact that Nir is not actively at Palo Alto.”

The Santa Clara, California-based cybersecurity firm founded by serial entrepreneur Zuk acquired Israeli firm CyberArk in July, in a deal valued at a staggering $25 billion. It marked the biggest-ever acquisition of an Israeli company after Google’s $32 billion purchase of Israeli-founded cybersecurity unicorn Wiz earlier this year. Zuk, who also served as CTO, decided in August to retire from Palo Alto after two decades.

“I firmly believe that the most amount of innovation in cybersecurity comes out of Israel. It’s not for debate; it’s a fact,” says Arora. “To the extent that people are building, solving hard problems as it relates to cybersecurity, we are constantly scanning the market, and even during my visit, I will see a few companies.”

Over the past decade, Palo Alto has invested more than $1.5 billion in acquiring smaller startups in Israel and views the country as a key hub for its growth.

“Israel is not the simplest country to operate, and not the easiest people,” says Arora. “But it has some of the most passionate people, who can handle adversity better than most people in the world, and despite the adversity, bring their best to work every day and try to do a great job.”

“I have never found the team from Israel not willing to accept feedback and desire to build the best product in the world — that trumps everything,” he remarks.