Hamish Soper (Tesserent)
Former Check Point Software New Zealand country manager Hamish Soper has been appointed as senior partner for the NZ arm of Australian cyber security player Tesserent, a role which sees him head up the company’s expansion into the country.
The move comes after Tesserent’s acquisition of New Zealand’s Lateral Security late last year – its first strategic acquisition in the country.
Now, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed company is working to significantly expand Lateral Security’s footprint and provide the full breadth of its cyber security services in New Zealand to complement the advisory and assurance business that Lateral Security has established in the Kiwi market.
Soper is stepping in to lead the company’s NZ attack after over a decade with Check Point Software. He first joined Check Point as its NZ country manager in 2007, leaving in 2017 to take on the NZ country manager role for AppDynamics.
In 2018, Soper departed AppDynamics, once again joining Check Point in NZ, this time as A/NZ channel director. Last year, he stepped back into the NZ country manager role as Peter O’Dwyer, who held the role following Soper’s previous departure, took up the position of major account manager for the company.
According to a Check Point spokesperson, the cyber security vendor is now on the hunt for a new NZ country manager.
“We are thrilled to announce that Mr Soper has been appointed to further drive Tesserent’s growth and service expansion in New Zealand,” said Kurt Hansen, co-CEO of Tesserent. “He has extensive experience with a career in cyber security spanning 15 years.
“His broad industry experience and skills will be an asset to supercharging our enhanced service provision in New Zealand and bringing the full capabilities of Tesserent to enterprise clients and all levels of government in New Zealand to help secure their digital assets. We welcome him to the team,” he added.
In his new role, Soper will work closely with Lateral Security founders Ratu Mason and Nick Von Dadelszen to further build on Tesserent’s growth ambition in New Zealand.
“I am excited to join Tesserent in this key phase of expansion and look forward to working with our New Zealand customers, partners and strategic alliances to provide unparalleled cyber security services at a critical time for New Zealand, as the scale, sophistication and velocity of attacks continue to reach new levels,” Soper said.
Tesserent and Lateral Security claim offices in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch, and boast a strong team with more than 25 security practitioners.
As part of its NZ growth strategy, Tesserent plans to actively seek new clients and key alliances as well as bringing on more cybersecurity professionals in the region.
Just days ago, Tesserent revealed it would consolidate its portfolio of acquired companies under its own brand name. However, it is understood that Lateral Security will retain its own branding alongside that of Tesserent NZ.
The decision to consolidate its branding is expected to make the most out of its organic growth, the company claimed, with brand integration and visual identity being a “key part” of its strategy.
