VC investor Nadav Zafrir will replace Gil Shwed as Check Point CEO in December.

Check Point Software Technologies said Wednesday that venture capitalist Nadav Zafrir will replace Gil Shwed as CEO of the cybersecurity vendor in December, in a major transition following Shwed’s three decades at the helm of the company.

Shwed played a chief role in bringing the modern firewall into existence and, in 1993, co-founded Check Point.

[Related: Check Point CEO Gil Shwed On ‘Prevention-First’ XDR And Security Vendor ‘Overload’]

Check Point had disclosed in February that Shwed planned to step down once a successor was found. Shwed will move into an executive chairman position once Zafrir takes over as CEO, Check Point said.

Zafrir (pictured) has spent the past decade as co-founder and managing partner at VC firm Team8, which has focused on sectors including cybersecurity.

At Team8, Zafrir was involved in building 17 cybersecurity companies, Check Point said in a news release.

Earlier, he served in the Israeli Defense Forces for 25 years, ultimately as a Brigadier General.

In the news release, Zafrir pointed to the fact that Check Point “shaped modern cyber security,” including by helping to establish Israel as a “hotbed” of cybersecurity entrepreneurship. Check Point alums have launched dozens of security vendors over the past three decades, notably including Palo Alto Networks and Imperva.

Growth Opportunities

Analysts have noted that Check Point has major growth opportunities ahead but has not been appreciated by investors to the same degree as cybersecurity rivals such as Palo Alto Networks.

Check Point competes with Palo Alto Networks, which was founded by former Check Point engineer Nir Zuk, in its core network security business as well as in numerous other segments including cloud security, SASE (secure access service edge) and endpoint security.

Check Point Global Channel Chief Francisco Criado told CRN in January that recent channel program enhancements are aimed at helping to accelerate the company’s expansion with partners in areas beyond its core network security segment, such as in email, cloud and endpoint security. “We want them to sell our comprehensive portfolio,” said Criado, vice president of global partner ecosystem organization at Check Point.

In an interview with CRN in 2023, Shwed said that Check Point’s SASE platform is now “more comprehensive in terms of security capabilities. It’s more scalable and interoperable with many more systems.”