JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Check Point Software Technologies on Wednesday said that industry veteran Nadav Zafrir will become its new chief executive starting in December.
Gil Shwed, current CEO and founder, will become executive chairman, it said. Zafrir will join Check Point’s board of directors pending shareholder approval.
The Israeli-based company reported estimate-beating second- quarter results on Wednesday.
Adjusted earnings per share was up 8% to $2.17, on revenue of $627 million, an increase of 7%. Both figures were in line with analysts’ forecasts which called for a profit of $2.16 per share on revenue of $623 million, LSEG data showed.
Zafrir co-founded Israeli venture group Team8, which invests in cyber security, data & AI, fintech and digital health. He has built, invested and chaired 17 cyber security companies, Check Point said. He is also chairman of smart energy company SolarEdge Technologies.
Shwed said he chose his replacement after a long search process that spanned the globe.
“We are very different and very complimentary to each other,” Shwed told reporters. “I wasn’t looking for someone to be my double, to continue doing things as I do.”
“I want a change, and I want a change at Check Point,” Shwed said.
The company also said it was expanding its share buyback program by $2 billion. It bought approximately 2.1 million shares at a cost of about $325 million in the second quarter, and will be authorised to continue buying up to that amount each quarter, it said.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
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