ZUK NIR

About ZUK NIR

Nir Zuk is a widely recognized cybersecurity entrepreneur and technical leader, best known as the founder of Palo Alto Networks. Public company materials state that he co-founded Palo Alto Networks in 2005 and served for more than 20 years as the company’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and as a member of the Board of Directors, before retiring in 2025. His career is closely associated with the rise of next-generation firewalls and the broader evolution of network security architecture, which helped establish his reputation as a highly influential security technologist. ([paloaltonetworks.com](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/press/2025/palo-alto-networks-announces-retirement-of-nir-zuk--founder-and-cto?utm_source=openai)) Before Palo Alto Networks, Zuk built his career in network infrastructure and security, with prior roles at Check Point and NetScreen Technologies, as reflected in public company biographies and market references. That background gave him deep expertise in security engineering, product design, and technical strategy. At Palo Alto Networks, he played a foundational role in shaping the company’s product direction and long-term security platform vision, helping guide the business as it grew into a major publicly traded cybersecurity company in the U.S. market. ([investors.paloaltonetworks.com](https://investors.paloaltonetworks.com/static-files/cbe599fa-471a-4f05-aeb6-3c073bcbbc89?utm_source=openai)) His notable achievements are strongly tied to the development and commercialization of the next-generation firewall concept, as well as to the creation of a company that became one of the most prominent names in enterprise cybersecurity. Public announcements from Palo Alto Networks emphasize that he was a driving force behind the company for more than two decades and helped shape its strategy as it expanded across network security, cloud security, security operations, and AI-enabled security offerings. ([paloaltonetworks.com](https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/company/press/2025/palo-alto-networks-announces-retirement-of-nir-zuk--founder-and-cto?utm_source=openai)) In short, Nir Zuk is best known as the founder and former CTO of Palo Alto Networks, with a career defined by technical innovation, product leadership, and lasting influence on modern network security.