Samani brings considerable experience in the field of information security to McAfee, having previously held a range of consultative and technical positions. He joins McAfee from Capgemini, where he was seconded to a large UK government client in the position of chief information security officer. Prior to his role with Capgemini, Samani held positions at Deloitte and Touche and with Qualys as EMEA technical manager.
Commenting on Samani's appointment, George Kurtz says, "McAfee has gained a valuable expert in the information security industry and Raj will bring an added dimension to the McAfee Office of the CTO. His extensive involvement in initiatives to improve the awareness and application of security mean that he is well placed to guide McAfee, our partners and our customers as we focus on bolstering security products, measures and initiatives across the globe."
In addition to his commercial positions, Samani is currently vice president of communications for the UK chapter of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), having previously established its UK mentoring programme. He cofounded the Information Security Awareness Forum (ISAF) and works closely with the UK and European government on information security initiatives. He is also the project lead for the Common Assurance Maturity Model (CAMM) initiative, and was also a SANS (SysAdmin, Audit, Network, Security) Institute mentor.
Samani comments, "Joining McAfee is an incredibly exciting opportunity and I look forward to being on the front line for an organisation that really is leading the information security industry, both in terms of technology and the ongoing fight against cybercriminals that threaten the security of data, systems and networks across the globe. With so many consumers and organisations looking to leverage the very latest in technology, security threats will continue to evolve, and I relish the thought of working on programmes to educate, inform and help users at all levels."
David Quantrell adds, "The diversity of the EMEA region requires feet on the ground to really get under the skin of customers and partners and to ensure that we are working in tandem with them to shore up defences and fight cybercrime on all sides. Raj's involvement in setting the technical direction for McAfee will have a positive influence on how we can work with our customers in EMEA to help them to address the security challenges that are as divergent as the region itself."
Samani holds numerous certifications in security, networking and operating systems as well as a BSc in business administration and an MSc in business information technology. He has spoken at numerous conferences and published papers on many aspects of security. He will be based at the McAfee offices in Slough in the UK.