Israel's Cato Networks names new legal chief

Israel-based cybersecurity firm Cato Networks said on April 20 that it appointed former CyberArk executive Meital Koren as chief legal officer to lead its legal and compliance work.

Koren has more than 15 years of legal experience and previously held senior legal roles at CyberArk, where she became SVP legal before Palo Alto Networks acquired the company in February 2026.

Cato said the hire follows an expansion of its Tel Aviv office and plans to add more than 140 employees in 2026 after annual recurring revenue reached US$350 million in 2025 and a US$409 million series G valued it at more than US$4.8 billion.

🔗 Source: Calcalist

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

A new legal chief hints at IPO plans as private funding extends the wait

Adding a chief legal officer often comes before a public listing. Cato Networks has been viewed as an initial public offering (IPO) candidate for years, and its CEO said a potential IPO could come in the fourth quarter of 2024 if markets improved 1.
Cato has chosen to keep delaying that expected IPO 2.
Cato raised a US$359 million series G round in June 2025 2. About a third of the money went to employees for liquidity, which let them turn part of their holdings into cash 2.
That choice lets the company run with public-company discipline while it waits for better market conditions. Private funding also helps Cato keep staff without listing its shares.

Cato’s single-platform strategy challenges the industry’s reliance on acquisitions

Cato aims to replace separate security and networking products with one platform built from the ground up 3.
This rip-and-replace pitch gives customers a lower total cost of ownership by merging budgets for tools like firewalls or remote access 1.
The approach pushes against larger cybersecurity vendors, which often buy different technologies and bundle them together 3.
The secure access service edge (SASE) market could reach US$28.5 billion by 2028 4. If Cato keeps gaining ground, rivals may need to rely less on deals and build integrated platforms to stay competitive 4.