Exabeam appoints Chris Hartley to lead UKI & Nordics

Exabeam has appointed Chris Hartley as Vice President for the UKI and Nordics, adding regional leadership as the cyber security supplier expands its local presence.

Hartley will oversee engagement with customers and partners across the UK and Ireland and the Nordic markets. He will focus on regional relationships, customer outcomes and support for organisations using Exabeam's security operations products.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in IT and business management, including more than a decade in cyber security. His previous roles include leadership positions at Cisco, Intel Corporation and Rapid7.

The appointment comes as cyber security vendors compete to place AI-driven tools at the centre of security operations. Exabeam said Hartley would help customers modernise threat detection, investigation and response across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments.

Alongside the hire, Exabeam has also appointed Erik Herfindal as Regional Sales Manager for the Nordics, signalling further investment in local management and sales coverage in northern Europe.

Regional Focus

Exabeam has been building its presence around behavioural analytics in security operations, with products spanning its New-Scale and LogRhythm platforms. Customers in the region are looking for systems that work with existing security tools and data sources rather than requiring a single-vendor setup, according to the company.

That message reflects a broader market trend as buyers weigh how to integrate AI features into established security stacks while managing cost and complexity. Vendors have increasingly argued that organisations want more automation in investigations and response, but many customers remain cautious about changing operational processes too quickly.

For Exabeam, the UKI and Nordic markets combine mature enterprise demand, public sector spending and growing interest in cloud-based security operations. The company framed Hartley's remit around closer local support and stronger partner links as customers reassess security operations in response to AI adoption and rising threat levels.

"Chris joins us at a pivotal moment as organisations across the UKI and Nordics rethink how they approach security operations in an increasingly AI-driven landscape," said Egon Kando, Vice President of Europe at Exabeam. "His combination of regional expertise and proven leadership will be instrumental as we deepen our presence and help customers navigate this shift with clarity and confidence. This appointment reflects our continued focus on building strong local leadership to drive long-term customer outcomes and sustainable growth across the region."

Market Pressure

Security operations has become one of the most contested parts of the cyber security market as suppliers seek to connect analytics, threat detection and automated response. Demand has been shaped by skills shortages in security teams, pressure to cut response times and a wave of product launches built around generative AI and autonomous agents.

Hartley's background suggests Exabeam is looking for a senior executive with both enterprise technology and regional channel experience. Cisco and Intel gave him exposure to large-scale IT and infrastructure markets, while Rapid7 brought him closer to cyber security operations and managed detection and response.

His role will include helping customers address regional cyber security challenges and build longer-term partnerships. Exabeam also highlighted the importance of its channel ecosystem in reaching customers across the UKI and Nordic markets.

Hartley will work with customers using Exabeam platforms across a range of deployment models, including on-premises systems, public cloud and hybrid environments. That reflects the reality for many larger organisations, which continue to run mixed security estates rather than moving entirely to a single-cloud model.

In the UK and the Nordics, security spending has remained relatively resilient compared with other parts of corporate IT budgets, even as buyers have become more selective. Companies have tended to favour projects tied to operational efficiency, risk reduction and regulatory demands, creating an opening for suppliers that can show measurable improvements in analyst workload and incident response.

"I'm joining Exabeam at a hugely important time for cybersecurity across the UKI and Nordics. These markets are currently navigating one of the biggest technology shifts since the move to cloud, as AI rapidly becomes central to driving innovation and operational outcomes," said Hartley. "What excites me most about Exabeam is its strong customer focus, its heritage in leading user and entity behaviour analytics (UEBA) since 2015, and the way it's building on that foundation with innovations like Exabeam Agent Behaviour Analytics (ABA). Combined with its investment in its channel ecosystem and the Exabeam APEX Partner Program, there is a real opportunity to translate that into tangible growth across the UKI and Nordics. I look forward to being part of this journey."