Cisco Hires Former Google Cloud Exec As New Security GM

Peter Bailey disclosed Tuesday he is joining Cisco as general manager and SVP of the tech giant’s security business.

Cisco has hired former Google Cloud executive Peter Bailey as the new general manager of its security business, Cisco executives disclosed Tuesday.

Bailey (pictured), whose title at Cisco will also include the role of senior vice president, had most recently served as vice president and general manager of SecOps (security operations) within the Google Cloud cybersecurity division.

Bailey had initially joined Google Cloud in late 2022 in connection with the company’s acquisition of Mandiant, where he had served as executive president for three years.

In a LinkedIn post, Bailey called Cisco a “foundational player” in security that will have a “strategic role in securing AI” at the data center level and in the enterprise over the coming years.

Tom Gillis, senior vice president and general manager for infrastructure and security at Cisco, said in a separate LinkedIn post that the hire of Bailey comes as the tech giant continues to “navigate the ever-evolving landscape of security, networking, and AI-driven solutions.”

“Peter’s extensive expertise will be instrumental in continuing the acceleration of our growth and delivering even greater value to our customers,” Gillis wrote in the post.

CRN has reached out to Google Cloud and Cisco for comment.

Prior to joining Mandiant in 2019, Bailey had spent more than eight years as CEO of Vertical Communications, a business communications platform provider. Bailey spent 15 years in total at the company, working his way up to CEO from initially joining as senior vice president in 2004.

The executive hire comes as Cisco continues to double down on its security offerings just over a year after its $28 billion acquisition of security operations powerhouse Splunk. Last week, Cisco reported that revenue for its security products portfolio grew 54 percent, year-over-year, to $2 billion.

The departure of Bailey also comes at a time of transition for Google Cloud’s cybersecurity division. Google CISO Phil Venables and Sunil Potti, general manager of Google Cloud’s security business, both stepped down from their roles at the company in March.

The same month, Google announced a deal to acquire Wiz, a fast-growing cloud and AI security vendor, for $32 billion to bolster its Google Cloud security division. The deal for the five-year-old company is the largest in Google’s history and would be one of the highest-priced acquisitions of a venture-backed tech company to date.