Cato Networks bolstered its European operations with the appointment of Tristan Elder as VP for the Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) channel.

Elder joins the secure access service edge (SASE) player from ExtraHop Networks, where he also led the EMEA channel business as VP. The British-based exec was previously VP for endpoint detection and response (EDR) vendor Cybereason, and senior director for EMEA channel sales at Crowdstrike.

Elder’s experience began with stints at Centrica and Veritas Technologies in the U.K., before roles abroad at KPMG Australia and the Singaporean arm of security vendor Symantec. He would return to the U.K. to lead sales roles at RSA Security and Fireye.

“What stood out about Tristan is not just his experience, but that he has been through this kind of journey before: building a channel business in a high-growth environment, working closely with partners and helping teams scale,” Karl Soderlund, global channel chief at Cato Networks, noted. “That perspective is exactly what we need as we continue to grow and invest across the region.”

Elder wrote in a LinkedIn post regarding his appointment that he was “grateful to have been given the opportunity by Cato Networks to lead the EMEA Channel Business and, now that I’ve had the chance to see behind the curtain, I’m even more enthused.

“Having been part of rapidly scaling businesses in the past, the pace and energy I’ve seen so far feels very familiar, as do the reasons behind Cato’s acceleration: a growing market, clear platform differentiation that addresses today’s challenges while preparing partners and customers for what’s next, and a vision centered on reducing complexity rather than adding to it,” Elder added. “As Cato becomes the platform of choice for enterprises and partners looking to move beyond fragmented, point-solution architectures, the opportunity to accelerate adoption through our strong partner community is extraordinary.”

Elder replaces Mark Draper in the role, who left Cato in March.

The firm recently hired Fortinet alum Jaime Romero as its new chief marketing officer, a move positioned as part of the vendor's next chapter of AI-fueled scale.

According to Cato, Elder’s hire similarly comes at a “pivotal time” as enterprise demand for AI security expertise rises across the EMEA region, with organizations increasingly reliant on their channel partners for guidance on AI governance, security risks, and the safe deployment of AI technologies.