Former RSA Chairman Art Coviello Joins Rally Ventures

Former RSA executive chairman Art Coviello has joined Rally Ventures as a venture partner just two months after stepping down from his leadership role in the EMC Federation.

As a venture partner, Coviello will aid the venture capital firm in evaluating investment opportunities and expanding its portfolio of enterprise security companies in addition to serving as an adviser, according to the announcement.

Coviello, who also served as executive vice president of EMC, announced earlier this year that he would retire from his duties as of Feb. 28 due to health reasons.

“Art is a great addition to Rally Ventures both in the operational expertise he brings to the firm and the Rally portfolio, and the impact he will have on Rally’s ability to build out our security portfolio and industry relationships,” said Charles Beeler, General Partner and co-founder at Rally Ventures, in a statement.

Coviello has been involved with Rally Ventures as a member of its Tech Partners program since the company’s inception in 2013. He has served in various leadership roles at RSA over the past 20 years, including his role as CEO before the company was acquired by EMC in 2006. Following his resignation, he agreed to serve as a strategic advisor to current RSA president Amit Yoran, who has taken on Coviello’s responsibilities at the security company.

The decision to join Rally Ventures in a more permanent manner was spurred by his interest in becoming involved with early startup security companies, according to CRN.

“I still want to stay active in the industry and Rally, for me, represented a unique opportunity to see companies right at the start because Rally specializes in early-stage companies,” Coviello said.

Last month, RSA held its annual security conference in San Francisco, where the company discussed trends in the cybersecurity space and how enterprises can improve their security offerings.