Wiz appoints CFO with IPO on the horizon

After extensive research and a series of interviews, it has become the most valuable private technology company in Israel Wiz He appointed an experienced CFO. Fazal Merchant has been named CFO and president of the cybersecurity company, which last July rejected a $23 billion takeover offer from Google.

Merchant gained most of his experience in CFO roles in the television and film industry. Until three years ago he was a member of the management of a private cybersecurity company. Merchant, who is based in New York and the Cayman Islands, has served as CFO at a range of companies from consulting firms to accounting firms, and is a board member of Warner Bros. Companies. and Chicago-based Discovery and Ryman Hospitality Properties and Ariel Investments.

Until 2020, Merchant worked in a number of senior positions at Tanium, a 2,000-employee Seattle-based cybersecurity company that specializes in endpoint protection products and services. Merchant was the company’s CFO for two years before becoming co-CEO.

Most of his 30 years of experience has been in the television and film industry. He was the CFO of DreamWorks Animation and led the sale of the studio to ComCast. Merchant also held leadership roles at DirecTV, including President of Corporate Development and CFO for DirecTV Latin America, where he directed the company’s sale to AT&T. Merchant is also a senior advisor to Sixth Street Investments, a private equity fund that has made investments in soccer teams Barcelona and Real Madrid as well as tech giants like Spotify and Airbnb. He was born in Pakistan and immigrated to the United States as a young man before attending the University of Texas at Austin and Indiana University.

What can be concluded from the appointment of Al-Tajer as CEO? Weese says Merchant will “drive operational excellence to support the company’s unprecedented growth while also ensuring IPO readiness.” Although Merchant has no experience with IPOs on Wall Street, nor has his cybersecurity and enterprise software experience been with a public company, Weisz’s mention of “preparing for an IPO” suggests an IPO is on the horizon.

A merchant becomes a CFO with a major challenge ahead of him: managing and overseeing multiple multi-million dollar deals based largely on future commitments from customers to continue working with Waze, when not all contracts will be renewed or upgraded, which could change the nature of the company’s growth and revenue prospects. Since Waze, like many cybersecurity companies, uses annual revenue growth rate (ARR) as the primary touchstone for its growth, it is necessary to carefully examine how revenue growth is calculated in order to produce as stable a forecast as possible.

Waze has grown to large proportions by Israeli startup standards, with 1,000 employees and an ARR value of around $500 million. Above all, Waze CEO and co-founder Assaf Rappaport has said several times over the past year that the company aims to go public, and for that reason, Merchant has been tasked with establishing connections with major investors on Wall Street and finding investment bankers and underwriters to back them. the offer. It is estimated that Waze plans to go public in 2026 or 2027.

“I’ve spent over a year getting to know Fazal, and hiring someone of his caliber in such a dynamic industry, and at this point in our development, we’re going to be a game-changer,” Rappaport said. “Fadl brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience with building and scaling some of the world’s most respected companies.” “He is well-equipped to navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with leading a rapidly growing company of our scale and we are thrilled to welcome him to Wiz as we embark on this exciting journey together.”

Merchant added: “Wiz represents an opportunity for generations. Few companies in recent times have had such a profound impact on the industry in such a short period of time by meeting the critical needs of so many global enterprises. Wiz’s record-breaking momentum has been nothing short of That much is amazing, and a testament to the amazing team of innovators, I am thrilled to join the team and help align financial strategy and operational excellence with the vision as Wiz continues to pioneer the future of cybersecurity, achieving new milestones and redefining the industry.”

Published by Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – on January 9, 2025.

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