Acronis has appointed Prakash Panjwani as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, as the global cyber protection company looks to build on its growth and expand its AI-native platform for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT departments.
Panjwani succeeds Jan-Jaap “JJ” Jager, who will remain a shareholder in the company. The appointment brings an executive with extensive experience in cybersecurity, channel-led business models and scaling global technology platforms to the leadership role.
“Prakash brings deep cybersecurity expertise and a proven track record in scaling global security platforms,” said Warren Adelman, Chairperson of the Acronis Board of Directors. He highlighted Panjwani’s product and go-to-market expertise, understanding of the MSP market, and experience in driving organic growth and mergers and acquisitions as key strengths for the company’s next phase.
Panjwani previously served as CEO of WatchGuard Technologies and SafeNet. During his decade at WatchGuard, he oversaw the company’s evolution from a firewall-focused business into a broader cybersecurity platform incorporating AI-powered endpoint detection and response (EDR), extended detection and response (XDR), and managed detection and response (MDR).
His experience in developing channel-focused businesses and expanding cybersecurity portfolios is expected to support Acronis’ efforts to deepen its relationships with service providers and expand its market presence. The company aims to bring cybersecurity, data protection, infrastructure management and service automation together through a natively integrated platform.
Acronis has positioned its platform around the needs of MSPs, which face growing demands to protect customer environments while managing operational complexity and service delivery costs. “Acronis has built a unique AI-native cyber platform with an MSP-focused approach that is highly scalable. I am excited to join this team to build upon that foundation, accelerate innovation and deliver even greater value to our partners,” said Panjwani.
He added that AI-based automation could help MSPs simplify operations and reduce the cost of delivering cyber protection services, while giving them opportunities to adopt platforms designed to combine protection and operational efficiency. Adelman also acknowledged Jager’s contribution to advancing the company’s product platform through AI-based innovations, driving partner growth and positioning Acronis for future development.
