Box Taps Former Symantec CEO to Adapt Security to Mobile

Cloud storage provider Box has brought former Symantec (SYMC) CEO Enrique Salem on board as a special adviser help the company improve its security as it furthers its reach into the mobility space.

Co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie announced the new arrangement with Salem on the company’s blog, marking the second big name in IT to join the company as an adviser. The other is Steven Sinofsky, who was hired last August to help Box improve its product and platform strategies.

Salem has a long history in the IT security realm. He joined Symantec as part of the security vendor’s acquisition of Brightmail in 2004 and went on to become its chief executive in April 2009. Under Salem’s leadership, Symantec increased its market share, which was mostly due to its acquisition of Verisign’s Certificate Authority line of business.

Symantec started suffering, though, and Salem was put out of work in 2012 after disappointing financials. The company is still recovering, and current CEO Steve Bennett is in the process of a major corporate restructuring.

Under Salem’s guidance, though, Symantec made its first forays into the cloud. And with his experience in running one of the largest IT security vendors on the planet, Box stands to gain from his knowledge and insights.

Levie noted that Salem will work closely with Box’s executives, customers and partners to “advance a new model for cloud security.” The crux of this announcement relates to Box’s mobile strategy, which is becoming increasingly important for the cloud storage vendor.

To further shift Box to smartphones and tablets, the company seems aware it needs to work on its security—something it has noted in the past as a differentiator between it and the likes of industry leader Dropbox. Salem’s experience should come in quite handy as Box moves forward.