Additional Info

Job title of nominated professional (or team name)Product Line Manager
Company (where nominated professional or team is working)Palo Alto Networks
Websitehttps://www.paloaltonetworks.com
Company size (employees)10,000 or more
CountryUnited States
Headquarters RegionNorth America

Overview

Priyanka Neelakrishnan emerges as a trailblazing figure in the realm of cybersecurity and networking product leadership, boasting a rich history of over a decade marked by exceptional accomplishments holding pivotal roles in esteemed organizations like Palo Alto Networks, Symantec, and Ericsson, where she is recognized for her business acumen along with technical excellence. She has successfully transformed many products into formidable profit drivers, ensuring sustained revenue streams.

Priyanka has spearheaded new product concepts, from ideation to executive endorsement and eventual productization. Her customer-centric philosophy is evident in her relentless pursuit of solving complex problems, providing conceptual clarity, and formulating comprehensive strategies within real-world constraints.

Priyanka leads four cloud enterprise security products CASB, DLP, UEBA, and SSPM, holding a $500M product portfolio with a staggering 180% growth in the last year. She genuinely cares for the product and people and always leads with integrity.

A true industry maven, Priyanka has introduced strategic changes to Go-to-Market strategies, led successful cross-product integrations, and spearheaded the innovation and launch of cutting-edge cloud-native AI-based products. Her influence extends across critical areas like CASB, DLP, Identity and Access Management, IoT, firewall integrations, and the broader SASE space, demonstrating a unique blend of networking and security expertise.

In her role as overseer of a $500M product portfolio, Priyanka demonstrates adept management of a diverse range of products, skillfully juggling priorities, and earning the well-deserved moniker of a “Rock Star” among her colleagues. Her influential presence extends to industry events, where she actively contributes to elevating security awareness.

Priyanka is authoring a cybersecurity book for enterprise customers, showcasing her commitment to the industry. She also advises startups and serves as a judge in diverse cybersecurity hackathons and contests.

Accomplishments

Navigating CASB customer acquisition and retention is a formidable challenge, yet Priyanka's exceptional customer insight, coupled with her unwavering integrity, professionalism, and positive attitude, set her apart. In comparison to competitors like Zscaler and Netskope, Palo Alto Networks experienced significantly lower customer churn rates, with a robust 180% overall CASB growth.


Priyanka's groundbreaking new UEBA solution, driven by AI and ML, revolutionized data security by eliminating the need for manual policies and incident remediation. The system autonomously learned and enforced data security policies, particularly resonating with sectors such as finance and healthcare, where stringent data protection is imperative. This marked a significant departure from industry competitors, who often relied on manual interventions or hybrid systems. The AI-based solution demonstrated superiority in data collection, correlation, and protection, earning acclaim, especially from federal customers prioritizing data security.


Priyanka's revolutionary SSPM solution, seamlessly integrated with other SASE components, stands as an industry-leading, comprehensive cybersecurity offering, earning acclaim from Gartner and other analysts who unequivocally designated it as the singular leader in Single-Vendor SASE.


In her role as overseer of a $500M product portfolio, Priyanka demonstrates adept management of a diverse range of products, skillfully juggling priorities, and earning the well-deserved moniker of a "Rock Star" among her colleagues. Her influential presence extends to industry events, where she actively contributes to elevating security awareness.


Priyanka is authoring a cybersecurity book for enterprise customers, showcasing her commitment to the industry. She also advises startups and serves as a judge in diverse cybersecurity hackathons and contests.