Andrea Carcano returned to Nozomi Networks to become CEO of the Mitsubishi-owned industrial security vendor.

Carcano, who co-founded the firm in 2013, will replace Edgard Capdevielle in the top role as the CEO steps down to an executive advisor role. The new CEO returns to the role he enjoyed between 2013 and 2016 before becoming Nozomi’s chief product officer (CPO).

Nozomi’s announcement highlighted Capdevielle’s tenure after he was appointed by Carcano and fellow founder Moreno Carullo to commercialize its operational technology (OT) security product. That tenure, it said, saw Nozomi Networks surpass $100 million in annual revenue and become the first privately held OT security company “to achieve sustained cash-flow break-even performance.”

This set it on the path to Mitsubishi Electric’s acquisition of Nozomi. That $1 billion acquisition was completed this year, bolstering the current OT M&A trend, which has seen ServiceNow splash $7.7 billion on Nozomi rival Armis, and consulting giant Accenture acquire Dragos in a deal worth $4.1 billion.

Nozomi said customers and partners would experience continuity during the leadership transition, and that Carcano’s focus is on “accelerating AI-driven innovation” while maintaining those customer and partner relations.

Prior to founding Nozomi, Carcano’s experience includes security engineering work for Italian energy company Eni, and research for the European Commission. Under his CPO tenure, Nozomi’s post-Mitsubishi development saw the release of its Nozomi Arc threat response tool and Nozomi’s membership of the much-allowed Claude Mythos-aligned Project Glasswing from Anthropic, where it now provides OT security development alongside rival Dragos.

“Edgard has been an extraordinary partner to Moreno and me for the past decade,” Carcano said in a statement on his announcement. “Stepping into this role feels like returning to where our story began, only now with the conviction of everything we’ve proven since: category-defining products, the trust of the world’s most critical operators, and market leadership recognized across the industry.”

“This is a new day one, the same hunger and audacity that started this company, now with everything it takes to win at the largest scale,” Carcano added.

“Leading Nozomi through this stage of its journey has been the honor of my career," Capdevielle said. "I’m looking forward to continuing to support the team as an advisor while returning to what I love most, helping early-stage companies find their way. Nozomi’s best chapter is the one that starts today."