JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Check Point Software Technologies said on Wednesday that industry veteran Nadav Zafrir will become its new CEO from December.
Gil Shwed, current CEO and founder, will become executive chairman, it was said. Zafrir will join Check Point’s board of directors, pending shareholder approval.
The Israeli company reported second-quarter results on Wednesday that beat expectations.
Adjusted earnings per share rose 8% to $2.17 on revenue of $627 million, up 7%. Both figures were in line with analysts’ forecasts for earnings of $2.16 per share on revenue of $623 million, data from LSEG showed.
For the third quarter, Check Point forecast revenue of $615-$650 million and non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.19-$2.29.
Zafrir co-founded Israeli venture group Team8, which invests in cybersecurity, data & AI, fintech and digital health. He has founded, invested in and led 17 cybersecurity companies, according to Check Point. He is also chairman of smart energy company SolarEdge Technologies.
Shwed said he chose his replacement after a long, global search process.
“We are very different and complement each other very well,” Shwed told reporters. “I wasn’t looking for someone who would be my doppelganger, who would continue to do things the way I do.”
“I want change, and I want change at Check Point,” Shwed said.
The company also said it was expanding its share buyback program by $2 billion. It bought about 2.1 million shares at a cost of about $325 million in the second quarter and will be authorized to continue buying up to that amount each quarter, it said.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
