Dana Barnes
Senior Vice President, Public Sector, Palo Alto Networks
In the fall of 2020, Dana Barnes became Palo Alto Networks first-ever senior vice president of public sector, a role that combines the U.S. federal, state and local and education businesses. The position enabled him to take advantage of his experience in building high-performing teams across the public sector market.
For years, Palo Alto Networks has provided government organizations with cybersecurity solutions that offer trusted intelligence, visibility and automation to help them securely modernize their networks.
Under Barnes’ leadership, Palo Alto Networks expanded the overall reach of its federal team by increasing the number of federally focused resources; the pace of FedRAMP authorizations and Impact Level 4 and 5 certifications; and focus on the Defense Department and its unique cybersecurity requirements in alignment with the Biden administration’s executive order on improving U.S. cybersecurity.
Barnes also drove industry alignment across Palo Alto Networks education and state and local businesses, leading to a renewed focus on cybersecurity for key programs in healthcare, integrated eligibility as well as smaller K–12 districts across the U.S.
Why Watch:
In 2022, Barnes is heavily focused on the government’s needs for zero trust, both on-premises and in the cloud, as well as helping public sector customers align with the cybersecurity mandates. The goal is to continue the momentum and become the government’s top cybersecurity partner at the federal, state and local levels.