California-based security firm Catbird has promoted David Keasey to CEO, the company announced Thursday.

The leadership change comes as Catbird shifts its focus to growth, Keasey tells SDxCentral.

An early mover in security virtualization since its founding in 2000, Catbird has so far received $12 million in venture funding from Medina Capital. The company's security policy engine integrates with major SDN infrastructures including Cisco ACI and VMware NSX, and Keasey touts the company's focus on OpenStack — announced in July — as a competitive highlight.

"We are are focused in 2015 on expanding our work with VMware and customers migrating to NSX, as well as expanding our work with the service provider community and others who are looking to support OpenStack," Keasey says.

Policy engines like Catbird's have gained particular traction in heavily regulated industries such as healthcare and finance, where software-based security orchestration can boost efficiency in meeting audit and network segmentation requirements.

An industry vet, Keasey most recently served as executive vice president of sales and business development at Catbird. Prior to joining Catbird in 2013, Keasey was a senior executive at Cybertrust and at Verizon's Terremark security unit.

Former CEO Edmundo Costa tells SDxCentral he is "still very active with the company" and remains a paid advisor to Catbird.

"He's got my complete support," Costa says of Keasey. "He's going to be an excellent leader to the company."