Zscaler, Inc. has appointed Dr. Swamy Kocherlakota as its first Executive Vice President of Agentic AI Security Engineering. This newly created role addresses the security paradigm shift as AI evolves from chatbots into autonomous agents that act as both users and applications. Dr. Kocherlakota, a 30-year technology veteran who previously led AI strategy at a global financial analytics firm, will lead the expansion of the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange™ platform to secure these agentic workflows and protect against new AI-era threats.
Zscaler creates a new executive role: EVP of Agentic AI Security Engineering.
Dr. Swamy Kocherlakota, a 30-year tech veteran and former AI strategy leader, is appointed.
The role addresses security risks introduced by autonomous AI agents in enterprise workflows.
Focus will be on expanding Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange platform to secure both human and machine identities.
Zscaler's platform is trusted by 45% of Fortune 500 companies.
The move aims to provide architectural security for the AI era beyond isolated tools.
The appointment is a direct response to the evolution of AI from interactive tools to autonomous agents that perform tasks and make decisions. CEO Jay Chaudhry highlighted the dual nature of this shift: “Agentic AI is the future of how organizations will work, creating enormous opportunities for automation and scale, but also introducing significant new risks that legacy security tools cannot address.” Dr. Kocherlakota's mandate is to solve these risks at the architectural level, rather than with piecemeal solutions.
Dr. Kocherlakota brings a blend of long-term technology experience and specialized AI strategy knowledge from a highly regulated sector. His background in shaping AI strategies within complex financial environments is seen as critical for developing secure, enterprise-grade solutions. Chaudhry emphasized this, noting Kocherlakota's “unique depth of experience” will help accelerate the expansion of Zero Trust principles to secure both human and machine identities effectively.
The strategy will center on innovating within the existing Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform, which already secures connections for thousands of customers globally. Kocherlakota stated, “Zscaler defined and pioneered Zero Trust security for users and applications and I believe it’s the only company with the data and architecture required to secure the AI era.” His leadership will focus on deepening the platform's capabilities in the AI stack to protect intellectual property, data, and brands as customers deploy agentic AI.
By establishing a dedicated executive role for Agentic AI Security, Zscaler is signaling the foundational importance of security in the next wave of enterprise AI adoption. This proactive move aims to ensure that its Zero Trust architecture evolves to meet the novel challenges posed by autonomous AI agents, positioning the platform as a critical enabler for safe and confident AI innovation.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.