After an extensive search and series of interviews, Israel's most valuable privately-held tech company Wiz has appointed an experienced CFO. Fazal Merchant has been named CFO and president of the cybersecurity company, which last July declined a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google.
Merchant gained most of his experience in CFO roles in the TV and movie industry. Until three years ago he was a member of management of a privately-held cybersecurity company. Merchant, a resident of New York and the Cayman Islands, has served as a CFO in a range of companies from consultancy to accountancy firms and is a board member of Warner Bros., Discovery and Ryman Hospitality Properties and Chicago-based Ariel Investments.
Until 2020, Merchant served in a number of senior positions at cybersecurity company Tanium, which has 2,000 employees in Seattle and specializes in endpoint protection products and services. Merchant was the company's CFO for two years before becoming co-CEO.
Most of his 30 years of experience has been in the TV and movie industry. He was CFO of DreamWorks Animation and led the studio's sale to ComCast. Merchant also held leadership roles at DirecTV, including Head of Corporate Development and CFO of DirecTV Latin America, guiding the company’s sale to AT&T. Merchant is also a senior advisor to Sixth Street Investments, a private equity fund that has made investments in soccer teams Barcelona and Real Madrid as well as tech giants such as Spotify and Airbnb. He was born in Pakistan and immigrated to the US as a youth before attending the University of Texas at Austin and Indiana University.
What can be concluded from the appointment of Merchant as CEO? Wiz says Merchant will, "Drive operational excellence in support of the company’s unprecedented growth while also ensuring IPO readiness." Even though Merchant has no experience in IPOs on Wall Street, and his cybersecurity and enterprise software experience was not with a public company, Wiz's mention of 'IPO readiness' suggests that an IPO is on the horizon.
Merchant becomes a CFO with a significant challenge ahead of him: managing and overseeing many multi-million dollar deals based largely on future commitments from customers to continue working with Wiz, when not all contracts are renewed or upgraded, which could change the nature of the company's growth and revenue forecast. Since Wiz, like many cybersecurity companies, uses the annual revenue growth rate (ARR) figure as the main touchstone for its growth, it is necessary to conduct a careful examination of how revenue growth is calculated in order to produce forecasts that are as stable as possible.
Wiz has grown to large proportions by the standards of Israeli startups, with 1,000 employees and ARR of about $500 million (ARR). Above all, Waze CEO and cofounder Assaf Rappaport has said several times over the past year that the company is aiming to go public, and because of this, Merchant is tasked with establishing contact with major Wall Street investors and finding investment bankers and underwriters to support the offering. Estimates are that Wiz plans to go public in 2026 or 2027.
Rappaport said, "I’ve spent over a year getting to know Fazal, and hiring someone of his caliber in such a dynamic industry and at this stage in our evolution is a game-changer. Fazal brings a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience building and scaling some of the world’s most iconic companies. He’s perfectly equipped to navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with leading a fast-growing company at our scale. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Wiz as we embark on this exciting journey together."
Merchant added, "Wiz represents a generational opportunity. Few companies in recent times have had such a profound impact on an industry in such a short period of time by addressing critical needs of so many global enterprises. Wiz’s record-breaking momentum has been nothing short of spectacular, and a testament to a great team of innovators. I’m thrilled to join the team and help align financial strategy and operational excellence with vision as Wiz continues to pioneer the future of cybersecurity, achieving new milestones and redefining the industry."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 9, 2025.
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