Nikesh Arora
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Executive
7 yr
15 reports
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. ·PANW
Founder retired; product and technology unified under one CPTO
Technology · Fortune #470 · Functional structure · 15K employees · Santa Clara, California
View as of:
7
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 8)
3.2
Avg span
moderate
4
Max depth
4 levels
3.7 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2024
43%
Internal hires
near industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-07-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$9.2B
Operating income
$1.2B
Net income
$1.1B
Total assets
$23.6B
Shares out
669M
Sourced from Palo Alto Networks, Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2025-11-07 ↗ View on SEC
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Palo Alto Networks, Inc. organizational chart
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Founder retirement led Palo Alto Networks to unify product and engineering under a single Chief Product and Technology Officer. This page maps the current executive structure, analyzes reporting lines and spans, reviews recent leadership changes, and compares PANW’s model with major cybersecurity peers.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Mark Goodburn joined as Board Director and Audit Committee Chair
Appointed to the Board effective November 18, 2025.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief AI Officer Create a Chief AI Officer reporting to the CEO to centralize AI strategy across platforms.
- Add COO for Execution Insert a COO to reduce CEO span and centralize operational execution.
Atlas work this supports
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The people
Who's running this
8 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Lee Klarich
Chief Product and Technology Officer
Product & Engineering
1 yr
3 reports
William BJ Jenkins
President
Executive
4 yr
0 reports
Dipak Golechha
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Finance
4 yr
1 reports
Karim Temsamani
Chief Revenue Officer
Sales
1 yr
2 reports
MJ Petroni
Chief Marketing Officer
Marketing
3 yr
0 reports
Bruce Byrd
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
Legal
10 yr
2 reports
Kristin Shiflett
Chief People Officer
Human Resources
2 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Nikesh Arora $99.7M
- Base salary
- $1.00M
- Stock awards
- $94.86M
- Non-equity incentive
- $1.20M
- Other
- $2.68M
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How Palo Alto Networks, Inc. divides the work
4 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Product & Engineering
6K employees
Chief Product and Technology Officer (Lee Klarich)
Owns platform architecture, product management, and global engineering.
Global Sales
4K employees
Chief Revenue Officer (Karim Temsamani)
Drives enterprise, commercial, and partner sales worldwide.
Marketing
900 employees
Chief Marketing Officer (MJ Petroni)
Responsible for brand, demand generation, and product marketing.
Finance
600 employees
Chief Financial Officer (Dipak Golechha)
Leads financial strategy, FP&A, accounting, and investor relations.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Founder Nir Zuk’s retirement consolidated all product and engineering authority under a single Chief Product and Technology Officer.
The org chart shows Lee Klarich now owning end‑to‑end product strategy, platform integration, and core engineering, removing the historical split between CTO and product leadership. This increases decision speed but also concentrates innovation risk in one role. Commercial functions remain functionally separated, with a dedicated CRO and President, reinforcing Palo Alto Networks’ enterprise‑scale, platform‑led go‑to‑market model.
- Unified Product & Technology under one CPTO
- No COO role
- Founder transitioned to emeritus
The comparison
How Palo Alto Networks, Inc. stacks up
Compared with large cybersecurity peers, Palo Alto Networks runs a more centralized product and technology model. Many peers maintain separate CTO and CPO roles or divisional product heads, while PANW unifies them. The absence of a COO is notable, placing execution accountability directly on the CEO, President, and …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
4 levels
CrowdStrike
4 levels
Fortinet
4 levels
Check Point
4 levels
Zscaler
4 levels
6 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Has COO / Has CAIO
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. — no COO — no CAIO
CrowdStrike — no COO — no CAIO
Fortinet ✓ COO — no CAIO
Check Point — no COO — no CAIO
Zscaler ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The most significant change was founder Nir Zuk’s retirement and the consolidation of product and technology under Lee Klarich.
- newMark Goodburn Board Director and Audit Committee Chair
Appointed to the Board effective November 18, 2025.
Source - Date not confirmed departedNir Zuk Founder and Chief Technology Officer
Retired August 2025 after more than two decades with the company.
Source - Date not confirmed promotedLee Klarich Chief Product and Technology Officer
Assumed unified CPTO role following founder retirement in 2025.
Source
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2025-11-07
- CEO
- Nikesh Arora
- CEO span
- 7
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 3.7 yr
Founder retired and CPTO role created.
Named executive officers (5)
- Nikesh Arora - CEO since 2018
- Dipak Golechha - CFO since 2021
- William BJ Jenkins - President since 2021
- Lee Klarich - Chief Product and Technology Officer since 2025
- Nir Zuk - Founder Emeritus
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2024-11-08
- CEO
- Nikesh Arora
- CEO span
- 8
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 4.2 yr
Separate CTO and CPO roles remained.
Named executive officers (5)
- Nikesh Arora - CEO since 2018
- Dipak Golechha - CFO since 2021
- William BJ Jenkins - President since 2021
- Lee Klarich - Chief Product Officer since 2019
- Nir Zuk - CTO since 2005
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2023-11-09
- CEO
- Nikesh Arora
- CEO span
- 8
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 4.8 yr
Founder still active as CTO.
Named executive officers (5)
- Nikesh Arora - CEO since 2018
- Dipak Golechha - CFO since 2021
- William BJ Jenkins - President since 2021
- Lee Klarich - Chief Product Officer since 2019
- Nir Zuk - CTO since 2005
Year-over-year changes
2025 marked the founder’s retirement and consolidation of product and technology leadership.
- CEO span: 8 → 7
- C-suite size: 5 → 5
- Avg tenure: 4.2 → 3.7 yr
- departed Nir Zuk - CTO (was CTO) (DEF 14A 2025-11-07)
- retitled Lee Klarich - Chief Product and Technology Officer (was Chief Product Officer) (DEF 14A 2025-11-07)
The board
Board of directors
5 directors. 4 of 5 independent (80%). Source: most recent DEF 14A.
Nikesh Arora
Chair Inside
CEO, Palo Alto Networks
John M. Donovan
Lead Indep. Independent
Investor
James J. Goetz
Independent
Partner, Sequoia Capital
Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Independent
Former Prime Minister of Denmark
Mark Goodburn
Independent
Former Chairman, KPMG International
Also on: C.H. Robinson Worldwide
The board, organized
Board committees
1 standing committees. Audit and Compensation must be 100% independent under SEC rules; the rest vary.
Audit Committee
100% independent
- Mark Goodburn Chair
- John M. Donovan
- Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Palo Alto Networks?
Nikesh Arora has served as Chairman and CEO since 2018.
What type of organizational structure does Palo Alto Networks use?
Palo Alto Networks operates a primarily functional structure with centralized product and technology leadership.
How many direct reports does Palo Alto Networks's CEO have?
The CEO has seven direct executive reports.
How has Palo Alto Networks's leadership changed recently?
In 2025, founder Nir Zuk retired and product and technology were unified under a new CPTO role.
Who reports directly to Palo Alto Networks's CEO?
Direct reports include the President, CFO, CPTO, CRO, CMO, General Counsel, and Chief People Officer.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Nov 19 2025
- 2025 Proxy Statement, Nov 2025
- SEC EDGAR: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Palo Alto Networks, Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/palo-alto-networks/MLA 9th
"Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/palo-alto-networks/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/palo-alto-networks/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2025-11-07. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1327567/000130817925000624/panw-20251107.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/palo-alto-networks/ · last updated 2026-04-01