San Diegeo-based Websense made the announcement earlier this week, after its board of directors named McCormack as the firm’s newest CEO and board member. The appointment, the company noted, is effective immediately. McCormack succeeds retiring CEO Gene Hodges, who served as Websense’s CEO and a board member since January of 2006.
“The board and I would like to thank and congratulate Gene…for all that he has accomplished in transforming Websense into a leading content security provider”, said John Carrington, chairman of the Websense board of directors, in a press release statement. “We wish Gene the best in his retirement, and we are confident that he leaves Websense well-positioned as we continue to extend our technology leadership and achieve corporate objectives.”
McCormack, who joined Websense in July of 2006 as its senior VP of product development, was previously appointed as the company’s president in April of 2009 “John has taken the lead in the successful execution of our strategic initiatives”, Carrington added. “With more than 25 years of security and industry experience, McCormack’s leadership, vision and technical insight has been a driving force in Websense’s global expansion and ground-breaking innovation”.
Websense also announced the appointment of Russ Dietz as the company’s chief technology officer (CTO). Dietz joined Websense in November of 2012 as CTO and executive VP of product development. He is currently responsible for the firm’s TRITON security technology and product strategy, innovation, and research and development. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Dietz will oversee the worldwide Websense engineering, product management and security lab teams, according to a company statement.