![Emmanuel Benzaquen](https://image-optimizer.cyberriskalliance.com/unsafe/384x0/https://files.scmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/emmanuel-benzaquen.jpg)
CEO
Checkmarx
Why Nominated: Checkmarx CEO Emmanuel Benzaquen led his company through another record fiscal year last year, with more than 60 percent year-over-year revenue growth – fueled by the addition of 400 new large-enterprise customers. Over the past year, he oversaw the launch of a new software exposure platform, an increase in head count, channel expansion and a key acquisition.
Profile: Helming Checkmarx since its inception in 2006, Benzaquen turned the company into an international software powerhouse, while pioneering an array of leading application security solutions. In that time, he has accumulated considerable experience understanding how to translate complex technologies into simple, understandable use cases.
Benzaquen is an advocate of organizations using comprehensive application security testing solutions throughout the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Doing so, he says, helps to address problem of app defects found that allow attackers to gain a foothold in organizations and ultimately steal sensitive data. Software vulnerabilities must be addressed at the application layer and during the development cycle, Benzaquen insists, because they are the root cause of the problem.
Under Benzaquen’s leadership, Checkmarx in the past year launched its Software Exposure Platform, which enables organizations to manage software exposure at the speed of DevOps. Benzaquen also established a world-class U.S. federal sales organization, driving 100 percent year-over-year growth in that market. Meanwhile, head count in the past year jumped to over 460 employees in 18 countries, and the company also acquired Custodela, a provider of software security program development and consulting services, to enhance automation within DevSecOps programs.
A 2019 Gartner Magic Quadrant leader in Application Security Testing, Checkmarx is headquartered in Israel, but due to global enterprise demand for its solutions, the company recently opened offices in Paris and Mumbai, adding to its already established presence in the U.S., and EMEA and APAC regions.
Benzaquen has previously held various tech and business positions in the semiconductor, enterprise software and IT fields, including at Argonaut RISC Core (ARC), Integrity Systems and Illuminator.
What colleagues say: “Emmanuel is one of the top leaders I have ever worked for and I highly respect him as a key player in the cybersecurity industry. He brings a strong strategic vision accompanied by effective metrics and focused critical success factors that exceed business objectives while also balancing the needs of his team internally. Emmanuel provides extreme transparency in his management style which helps to inspire the team to work towards excellence, creating a product/brand that is unparalleled to its competitors. Even as a CEO, he encourages and supports individuals to take initiative, become well rounded, and further develop business acumen.”
– Ron Kormanek, Vice President of Sales, North America at Checkmarx