Delinea Chooses CyberArk, Cisco Vet as Go-to-Market Leader

Delinea has hired CyberArk and Cisco vet Chris Kelly as its new president of go-to-market.

In this role, Kelly will oversee Delinea’s global sales, channel, solution engineering and customer success teams. He most recently was CyberArk’s chief revenue officer. There, he played a key role in driving revenue growth and market expansion.

Kelly also held senior leadership roles at Adobe and Cisco. He was with Cisco for more than 16 years and his last title was vice president of sales and customer experience.

“Delinea is one of the most dynamic companies in cybersecurity today, and its remarkable growth has made a significant impact across industries and regions,” he said. “I’m thrilled to join this talented team at such a pivotal time and eager to drive growth, innovation and success as we shape the future of identity security, especially in the era of AI.”

Adobe, Cisco Vet Praises Delinea’s Market Momentum

Delinea’s momentum in the market is “extraordinary and undeniable,” Kelly said.

“Recognized as a leader in all five major analyst reports for privileged access management (PAM), including Gartner, the company has consistently demonstrated its commitment to innovation and excellence,” he said. “With the addition of cutting-edge capabilities such as cloud infrastructure entitlement management (CIEM), identity threat detection and response (ITDR), and identity governance and administration (IGA), we have further strengthened our platform to help customers navigate the ever-evolving threat landscape and meet the complex demands of modern organizations.”

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It’s an “exciting yet challenging” time for organizations as AI reshapes industries with transformative potential, Kelly said.

“AI offers unparalleled opportunities to revolutionize operations, boost efficiency and uncover valuable insights,” he said. “However, it also brings significant security risks, including AI-driven cyberattacks and vulnerabilities in machine learning (ML) systems. Delinea is leading the charge in securing AI by ensuring both human and machine identities are effectively managed, authenticated and protected. Through robust identity security measures and AI-driven threat detection tools, Delinea empowers organizations to harness the power of AI while mitigating emerging risks and safeguarding their future.”

Kelly said his experience at CyberArk gave him a deep understanding of the PAM market, a space in which he said Delinea is driving significant innovation.

“At Adobe and Cisco, I honed my ability to scale operations, foster partnerships and navigate the complexities of global markets,” he said. “These roles taught me the importance of agility, customer-centric strategies and collaboration, qualities that align perfectly with Delinea’s mission. I plan to leverage this experience to enhance our product offerings, strengthen partner relationships and accelerate our market impact. Working with channel-first organizations like Adobe and Cisco has taught me a lot about the optimal way to work with partners, and I believe the channel will help fuel Delinea’s next wave of growth.”

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Kelly’s Immediate Priority

Kelly said his immediate priority is to engage with Delinea’s teams, partners and customers to fully understand their needs and challenges.

“Building strong relationships and aligning on shared goals is critical to driving success,” he said. “I’m also focused on ensuring that Delinea continues to innovate and deliver solutions that address the evolving threat landscape. Finally, I’ll be working to strengthen our market position and enable our partners to deliver even greater value to their customers.”

One of the biggest challenges for Delinea’s partners is navigating the increasing complexity of cybersecurity threats while ensuring customers can easily implement and scale solutions, Kelly said.

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“Partners need tools and support to help their clients adopt comprehensive identity security strategies without introducing unnecessary complexity,” he said. “At Delinea, we are committed to simplifying the implementation of robust security measures, and providing partners with the resources and insights they need to succeed. Simplification is part of our DNA, removing complexity to ensure our customers and partners get the best security they need to be effective. This commitment drives us to enhance training, streamline integrations and develop tools that help partners communicate the value of identity security to customers effectively. By fostering deeper collaboration and delivering actionable support, we empower our partners to overcome challenges and achieve shared success.”