Forcepoint has appointed Vincent Merlin as Chief Marketing Officer as the cybersecurity company looks to accelerate global adoption of its AI Data Security platform amid growing enterprise use of artificial intelligence and autonomous agents.
Merlin will report to Forcepoint CEO Ryan Windham and lead the company's global marketing organisation. His responsibilities will span brand, demand generation, product marketing and analyst relations, with a focus on strengthening Forcepoint's positioning in the emerging AI data security category.
The appointment comes as businesses increasingly deploy generative and agentic AI systems across enterprise workflows, creating new questions around how sensitive corporate data is accessed, shared and governed. Forcepoint has been positioning its AI Data Security platform around providing organisations with visibility and controls over data interacting with AI applications and autonomous agents.
Merlin brings around two decades of experience across enterprise technology and cybersecurity. He joins Forcepoint after spending 10 years at Proofpoint, where he most recently served as Senior Vice President of Global Growth Marketing. His remit there covered the company's worldwide marketing organisation and inside sales.
During his tenure at Proofpoint, Merlin was involved in developing the company's global growth operations and its AI-led transformation as annual recurring revenue increased from approximately $400 million to more than $2.4 billion, according to Forcepoint. Before Proofpoint, he held global and regional marketing leadership positions at technology companies including AVEVA, Dell EMC and RSA.
Merlin holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and an engineering degree in quantum photonics and optics from Institut d'Optique Graduate School.
Commenting on the appointment, Windham said enterprises will increasingly need to maintain control over how AI systems interact with organisational data. He added that Merlin's global go-to-market experience would support Forcepoint's efforts to communicate its approach to customers and partners as AI adoption expands.
Merlin said organisations have historically adopted technologies such as the web, email and cloud before security frameworks fully matured around them. He positioned AI as the latest stage of that progression, with businesses looking to use their information for AI applications while maintaining control over sensitive data.
Forcepoint's platform is designed to protect sensitive information across cloud environments, web applications, networks, email, endpoints and AI through a unified policy framework. The Austin-headquartered company operates across more than 150 countries.
Merlin is also scheduled to participate alongside Forcepoint executives, customers and industry leaders at the company's AWARE: Decoding Agentic AI Security virtual conference on September 16.
The appointment places AI data security at the centre of Merlin's marketing mandate as Forcepoint seeks to expand its positioning and customer adoption in a cybersecurity market increasingly shaped by enterprise AI deployments.
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