Luk Schoonaert Appointed CISO at Exclusive Networks

Veteran cyber expert installed as global head of information security strategy at cybersecurity specialist

PARIS, FRANCE – 1st July 2021 – Exclusive Networks, a global trusted cybersecurity specialist for digital infrastructure, has appointed Luk Schoonaert as its new Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This appointment will support Exclusive Networks in meeting the exponential global demand for optimised cybersecurity response while enabling the company’s continuing commitment to innovation and category leadership.

“Cybersecurity is core to the Exclusive Networks identity and mission, which makes the CISO role very important to our customer offerings and business operations alike,” said Philippe Bosquier, CIO at Exclusive Networks, to whom Schoonaert will report. “Luk is highly experienced and well regarded with an acute understanding of his domain, and of our business principles and processes. He will be responsible for the overall cybersecurity of Exclusive Networks digital infrastructure, evolving our cyber strategy and feeding into strategic technology decision making as we embrace future challenges and opportunities. His experience in onboarding new technologies will also continue to be harnessed on a global scale in the work of identifying and qualifying new products and vendors to help enhance our global product portfolio.”

Before being identified as the ideal candidate to take on the CISO role, Luk Schoonaert occupied IT leadership positions at Exclusive Networks for 10 years, and prior to that worked in enterprise engineering at vendors including McAfee and IronPort (Cisco). As Exclusive Networks’ Director of Technology, he drove the adoption of emerging security solutions and developed a thorough background in DFIR, threat hunting, detection engineering, UEBA, adversary simulation, and mitigating advanced threats. Luk is also the co-author and instructor of the Threat Hunting Academy, a unique Exclusive Networks training programme teaching enterprises how to build their SOC, understand advanced attacks and construct resilient detections and mitigations.

“I believe in striving to be an example to customers and partners; showing how emerging security technologies, well trained staff and highly automated procedures can provide new levels of protection in our industry,” said Luk Schoonaert, CISO at Exclusive Networks. “I look forward to leading a new chapter of maturity in how we protect our own infrastructure and data, building a next-gen SOC and enhancing our resilient security posture to thwart advanced threats. Ultimately, this translates into helping to grow our business partners and customers in secure and efficient ways.”