Cybersecurity firm McAfee names new CEO

January 16, 2020 TH Author

McAfee announced Thursday that Chris Young is stepping down as CEO of the cybersecurity company. Peter Leav, the former chief executive of BMC Software, will take over the role on February 3. Leav held previous leadership roles at Polycom, NCR Corporation and Motorola and currently sits on the board of directors at Box and Proofpoint.

Since its split from Intel in early 2017, McAfee has pivoted to cloud services and worked to build out its platform with a focus on its enterprise product portfolio.

Intel bought McAfee in 2011 and rebranded as Intel Security in 2014. A year later, Intel Security adjusted its strategy to refocus the business on endpoint security, as well as threat intelligence, analytics, and orchestration. McAfee was spun out from Intel through a deal with TPG Capital, which owns 51 percent of McAfee.

“We’re proud of the progress McAfee has made since becoming a standalone company, and we thank Chris for his pivotal role through the first phase of McAfee’s evolution,” said Tim Millikin, a partner at TPG Capital and McAfee board member.

Lately, it’s been suggested that McAfee is plotting a return to the public market after meeting with banks and representatives of financial institutions. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that an IPO could raise at least $1 billion for McAfee and could value the company at over $5 billion. The CEO changeup could be seen as a sign that IPO plans are ramping up.

“Peter has exactly the right mix of experience and expertise to lead McAfee in its next phase of growth,” said TPG co-CEO and McAfee chairman Jon Winkelried.