Cato Networks has hired Fortinet alum Jaime Romero as its new chief marketing officer.

Romero replaces Idan Hershkovich, who served as marketing leader since the secure access service edge (SASE) vendor’s inception in 2015. Hershkovich will now transition into the role of chief product-led growth (PLG) officer for Cato.

In a lengthy LinkedIn post, Romero praised Cato as a “true leader” in the SASE space, while proclaiming CEO Shlomo Kramer as a cybersecurity visionary. The new CMO repeated Cato’s claim to be the original SASE vendor, as Kramer stressed in a recent profile for SDxCentral.

“Cato continues to be a leader in the SASE Gartner Magic Quadrant, and this kind of consistent acceleration doesn’t happen by chance; it’s the result of focus, conviction, and disciplined execution,” Romero added. “I’m excited about this next chapter. I’ve respected Cato and their marketing for a long time now. I used to visit their website regularly and be inspired by their messaging and branding. Now I get to help shape the next phase of growth.”

Prior to Cato, Romero spent over six years at Fortinet, having joined the rival firm as VP for corporate marketing in 2019. He would then become executive marketing VP in December 2024.

With a background in events marketing, previous tech-based roles have seen Romero manage marketing for B2B data firm MRP, adtech business LocalVox, and M&A deals platform Axial.

In a transition note for LinkedIn, Herhkovich wrote that his new role comes as Cato prepares for its next chapter of scale.

“I’m excited to share that I’m moving into a new role as chief PLG officer. My focus will be on building and shipping a SASE offering that our partners can take to the SMB market with speed and confidence - expanding how customers can adopt the Cato SASE platform, and enabling a simpler, partner-first buying and deployment motion.

The exec added Romero is “stepping in at an exciting moment, and I’m looking forward to partnering closely as we continue building.”

CEO Kramer told this title Cato sees the next wave in security as AI transformation, something which spurred Cato’s first-ever acquisition last year when it snapped up AI cybersecurity firm AIM Security for a reported $350 million.

Kramer also described SASE as a $100 billion opportunity for Cato, citing Gartner’s prediction that 60% of enterprises will implement the tech in the next three years.