Soderlund, who formerly helmed the channel programs at Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks, succeeds Frank Rauch, who has retired.
Cato Networks has hired a veteran of the cybersecurity channel, Karl Soderlund, as its new global channel chief, CRN has learned.
Soderlund, who formerly helmed the channel programs at Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks, succeeds Frank Rauch in the role.
CRN reported Wednesday that Rauch, a well-known channel executive who has spent decades running partner-focused efforts at top industry players, has retired.
Soderlund had most recently served as senior vice president of worldwide partner and alliance sales at Zscaler from March 2023 to July 2024, when he was succeeded in the role by former ServiceNow executive Anthony Torsiello.
At Zscaler, Soderlund was credited with rolling out numerous changes meant to enable the cybersecurity vendor to rely more heavily on channel partners. His focus, he told CRN in 2023, was to help the vendor to always find “how to be better partners to our partner community.”
Before joining Zscaler, Soderlund had held key channel roles at Palo Alto Networks for nearly six years, starting in 2017. He served as senior vice president of worldwide channel sales at the cybersecurity giant from 2018 until his departure in March 2023.
Cato Networks is a major competitor with both Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks, particularly in the area of security access service edge (SASE), where Cato has been ranked as a “leader” by research firm Gartner along with Palo Alto Networks and Netskope.
Cato has also been expanding beyond its core area of SASE, including with moves into the areas of extended detection and response (XDR) and endpoint protection platform (EPP) offerings.
In terms of its next phase, Cato is also reportedly eyeing an initial public offering, following its $238 million funding round at a valuation of more than $3 billion in 2023.
Rauch, meanwhile, told CRN that his retirement comes as the longtime channel leader looks to spend more time with his family. “I’ve given a lot to the channel,” said Rauch, whose other past roles have included heading the channel programs at VMware and Check Point. “It’s time to take a break.”
