Moti Gindi, the former CVP of security products at Microsoft, is joining Israeli startup Apiiro as its new chief product officer. Gindi, who helped build Microsoft Defender into a multi-billion dollar business, joins Apiiro to scale the growing business of the cloud application security platform.
In the last year, Gindi was the chief strategy officer for Microsoft Security. In this role, he reported to EVP security Charlie Bell and was responsible for Microsoft Security’s cross-product strategy and long-range investment plan.
“Over the past year I was responsible for the strategy for Microsoft’s cyber products, which generates $20 billion. I was responsible for the growth and strategy of the company,” Gindi told Calcalist.
During Gindi’s time building Microsoft Defender, the company acquired Israeli companies Aorato, founded by Apiiro co-founder Idan Plotnik, and Adallom, founded by Wiz co-founder Assaf Rappaport. Following the acquisition, Gindi was responsible for integrating both startups into Microsoft.
“I retired from Microsoft for three reasons. Firstly, I felt that I wanted to return to building and dealing with a growing company that is not under a giant corporation,” Gindi said. “The second reason is Apiiro founder Idan Plotnik, with whom I worked at Microsoft and who is someone I wanted to work with again. The third reason is that Apiiro’s sector is going to explode and this is a special company with amazing tools. I’m here to build something big and that is why I left a comfortable position and made a career move that is not linear.”
In September of last year it was reported that Palo Alto Networks was in negotiations to acquire Apiiro. However, Gindi said that the company currently has no plans to be acquired.
Apiiro raised a $100 million Series B led by General Catalyst with participation by Greylock and Kleiner Perkins last November after being linked to Palo Alto Networks in a deal that would have valued it at $500-600 million. Apiiro, which raised a $35 million Series A in October 2020, was founded by Idan Plotnik and Yonatan Eldar, both alumni of the elite Israeli Defense Force (IDF) cybersecurity unit ‘Matzov’. Plotnik was previously the co-founder and CEO of Aorato, which was sold to Microsoft for $200 million, with Eldar serving as Aorato’s head of development.
