Fortinet, a leader in high-performance network security, has announced the appointment of Alain Penel as regional vice president for the Middle East region.

Based in Dubai, Penel is responsible for driving Fortinet’s aggressive growth plan in the region, through a business focus on the high-end market segment and the expansion of its channel network and its regional team.

“The Middle East represents a strong business opportunity for Fortinet. That’s why I want to further invest in the region by growing the team there,” said Patrice Perche, vice president of international sales and support at Fortinet.

“Alain has the experience, energy and leadership required to lead that effort. With his strong sales, management and market expertise, I’m confident that he can help our local team comfort the success gained in the high-end while setting up the channel for establishing Fortinet as leading provider in the SMB market as well.”

Penel has spent more than 25 years in sales, business development and management positions in organizations like Cisco, Bay Networks, Digital Equipment and Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise.

His last position was vice president Sales and Support for the MEA region, through which he was in charge for the sales strategy and growth for Enterprise Solutions and for supporting Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s broader business strategy.

“Fortinet has gained strong success in many countries of the region thanks to its high-performance and flexible technology as well as the breadth of its solutions portfolio,” Penel said.

“Working closely with our local team, my objective is now to extend that success to other countries or market segments within the Middle East. We definitely have the technology and people to make it happen.” – TradeArabia News Service