Why I’m Helping Cloudflare Grow in Australia & New Zealand (ANZ)

I’ve recently joined Cloudflare as Head of Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). This is an important time for the company as we continue to grow our presence locally to address the demand in ANZ, recruit local talent, and build on the successes we’ve had in our other offices around the globe. In this new role, I’m eager to grow our brand recognition in ANZ and optimise our reach to customers by building up my team and channel presence.

I’m a Melburnian born and bred (most livable city in the world!) with more than 20 years of experience in our market. From guiding strategy and architecture of the region’s largest resources company, BHP, to building and running teams and channels, and helping customers solve the technical challenges of their time, I have been in, or led, businesses in the ANZ Enterprise market, with a focus on network and security for the last six years.

I joined Cloudflare because I strongly believe in its mission to help build a better Internet, and believe this mission, paired with its massive global network, will enable the company to continue to deliver incredibly innovative solutions to customers of all segments.

Four years ago, I was lucky to build and lead the VMware Network & Security business, working with some of Cloudflare’s biggest ANZ customers. I was confronted with the full extent of the security challenges that ANZ businesses face. I recognized that there must be a better way to help customers secure their local and multi-cloud environments. That's how I found Cloudflare. With Cloudflare's Global Cloud Platform, businesses have an integrated solution that offers the best in security, performance and reliability.

Second, something that’s personally important for me as the son of Italian migrants, and now a dad of two gorgeous daughters, is that Cloudflare is serious about culture and diversity. When I was considering joining Cloudflare, I watched videos from the Internet Summit, an annual event that Cloudflare hosts in its San Francisco office. One thing that really stood out to me was that the speakers came from so many different backgrounds.

I’m extremely passionate about encouraging those from all walks of life to pursue opportunities in business and tech, so seeing the diversity of people giving insightful talks made me realise that this was a company I wanted to work for, and hopefully perhaps my girls as well (no pressure).

I strongly believe that Cloudflare’s mission, paired with its massive global network, will enable customers of all sizes in segments in Australia and New Zealand to leverage Cloudflare’s security, performance and reliability solutions.

For example, VicRoads is 85 percent faster now that they are using Argo Smart Routing, Ansarada uses Cloudflare’s WAF to protect against malicious activity, and MyAffiliates harnesses Cloudflare’s global network, which spans more than 180 cities in 80 countries, to ensure an interruption-free service for its customers.

Making security and speed, which are necessary for any strong business, available to anyone with an Internet property is truly a noble goal. That’s another one of the reasons I’m most excited to work at Cloudflare.

Australians and Kiwis alike have always been great innovators and users of technology. However, being so physically isolated (Perth is the most isolated city in the world and ANZ are far from pretty much everywhere else in the world) has limited our ability to have the diversity of choice and competition. Our isolation from said choice and competition fueled innovation, but at the price of complexity, cost, and ease. This makes having local servers absolutely vital for good performance. With Cloudflare’s expansive network, 98 percent of the Internet-connected developed world is located within 100 milliseconds of our network. In fact, Cloudflare already has data centers in Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, ensuring that customers in ANZ have access to a secure, fast, and reliable Internet.

I’m truly looking forward to helping Cloudflare grow its reach over the next five years. If you are a business in Australia and New Zealand and have a cyber-security, performance or reliability need, get in touch with us (1300 748 959). We’d love to explore how we can help.

If you’re interested in exploring careers at Cloudflare, we are hiring globally. Our team in Australia is small today, about a dozen, and we are growing quickly. We have open roles in Solutions Engineering and Business Development Representatives. Check out our careers page to learn more, or send me a note.