Proofpoint names legal & people chiefs for global push

Proofpoint has appointed Brian Levey as Chief Legal Officer and Puja Jaspal as Chief People Officer, adding both executives to its leadership team as the company expands globally.

Levey will oversee Proofpoint's global legal organisation, including legal affairs, corporate governance, compliance, ethics and related strategic functions. Jaspal will lead the global people organisation, with responsibility for talent strategy, employee experience, organisational development and total rewards.

The appointments add two senior leaders with long records in the technology sector. Both bring more than 25 years of experience across listed companies and global businesses navigating operational change.

Levey joins from Upwork, where he served as Chief Business Affairs and Chief Legal Officer. There, he oversaw legal, compliance, public policy and information security, and was involved in the company's initial public offering.

Before Upwork, he spent more than 13 years at eBay, working on growth and strategic transactions, including the acquisitions of PayPal, Skype, StubHub, Shopping.com and GSI Commerce.

At Proofpoint, Levey will work with the executive leadership team and Board of Directors on the company's growth strategy. His remit also includes risk management and governance as the cybersecurity group broadens its international operations.

Jaspal most recently served as Chief People Officer at Fastly, where she worked on business transformation and people strategy. Earlier in her career, she held senior leadership roles at Cisco, Visa and Google.

At Proofpoint, she will oversee workforce strategy and culture across the company's global operations, putting her at the centre of hiring, leadership development and employee retention as the group supports continued expansion.

The company said the appointments come at an important stage in its development as demand rises for tools that secure communications, data and artificial intelligence-related workflows. Proofpoint sells cybersecurity products focused on email, cloud and collaboration environments.

It works with more than 80 of the Fortune 100, more than 14,000 large enterprises and millions of smaller organisations. Its offering is aimed at helping customers stop threats, prevent data loss and improve resilience across employee and AI-related activity.

The hires also reflect how cybersecurity companies are broadening senior leadership teams beyond product and sales as regulatory scrutiny, governance demands and competition for talent intensify. For legal chiefs, that often means a wider brief across compliance, ethics and public policy, while people leaders are increasingly tied to operational change and workforce planning.

Sumit Dhawan, Chief Executive Officer of Proofpoint, linked both appointments to the company's next phase of development.

"Brian and Puja are exceptional leaders with deep experience helping global technology companies grow through periods of transformation," said Dhawan. "Their leadership will help propel Proofpoint into its next era of growth-scaling our business, accelerating innovation, and setting the standard for how organisations protect people, data, and AI as the future of work is rewritten."

Levey described the move as a continuation of his work in trust and online safety. His career has combined legal oversight with governance and security-related issues at internet and marketplace businesses.

"Building trust online has been the through-line of my in-house career, and cybersecurity is where trust gets defended," said Levey. "Joining this leadership team at such a defining moment for the company is a real privilege, and I'm excited to help Proofpoint grow, innovate, and keep earning the confidence customers place in us every day."

Jaspal said the company's mission and culture were central to her decision to join. Her previous roles have focused on organisational design, leadership development and aligning people strategy with business performance.

"Proofpoint's mission, culture, and commitment to innovation make this an incredibly meaningful and dynamic time to join the company," said Jaspal. "I'm looking forward to helping build an environment where exceptional talent can thrive, grow, and do their best work as we continue to scale and deliver for customers around the world."