Avast About us | About AVAST Software (2023)

Ondrej Vlcek

Chief Executive Officer

Ondrej Vlcek serves as Chief Executive Officer for Avast. Together with his senior management team, he executes on Avast’s vision to deliver people-centric security andspearheadsthe Company's product innovation program for emerging consumer technology categories, including the Internet of Things and 5Gsecurity. Mr. Vlcek was previously President of Avast Consumer, the largest business within the Company, and directed the development of Avast’s artificial intelligence-based cloud security network. Mr. Vlcek was also a key member of the executive team that took the company public on the London Stock Exchange in May 2018. Previously, he held the combined position of Executive Vice-President & General Manager, Consumer, and Chief Technology Officer. In this role, he led Avast’s transformation from a traditional PC antivirus vendor to the leading provider of a full portfolio of protection, privacy, and performance products for consumers. Prior to that, Mr. Vlcek was chief developer, heading the team that developed one of the first ever antivirus programs for Windows. Mr. Vlcek holds an MS in Mathematics from Czech Technical University in Prague. He is a recognized industry speaker having delivered keynotes at a number of high-profile events including RSA, Web Summit, Black Hat and SXSW.

Michal Pechoucek

Chief Technology Officer

Michal Pechoucek joined Avast as CTO in September 2019. Mr. Pechoucek leads the core technology and R&D teams supporting the work of the Avast Threat Labs, Big Data and innovation teams. He is also responsible for the company’s scientific research in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity. Before joining Avast, Mr. Pechoucek spent over twenty years as a professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague, during which time he led the Department of Computer Science and founded the Artificial Intelligence Center in 2001. He also co-founded a research-oriented study programme, Open Informatics, which offers a choice of different subjects, combines different areas of informatics and approaches and continues to be taught today. Mr. Pechoucek graduated from University of Edinburgh and gained his PhD in Artificial Intelligence at CTU in Prague. He also worked at University of Southern California, University of Edinburgh, State University of New York at Binghamton and University of Calgary.

Jaya Baloo

Chief Information Security Officer

Jaya Baloo is Avast’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and joined Avast in October 2019. Previously, Ms. Baloo held the position of CISO at KPN, the largest telecommunications carrier in the Netherlands, where she established and lead its security team whose best practices in strategy and policy are today recognized as world leading. Prior to this, Ms. Baloo also held the position of Practice Lead Lawful Interception at Verizon, and worked at France Telecom as a Technical Security Specialist. Ms. Baloo is formally recognized within the list of top 100 CISOs globally and ranks among the top 100 security influencers worldwide. In 2019, she was also selected as one of the fifty most inspiring women in the Netherlands by Inspiring Fifty, a non-profit aiming to raise diversity in technology by making female role models in technology more visible. Ms. Baloo has been working in the field of information security, with a focus on secure network architecture, for over 20 years and sits on the advisory boards of the NL’s National Cyber Security Centre, PQCrypto and Flagship Strategic. She serves on the audit committee of TIIN capital, a cybersecurity fund, and is also a member of the IT Committee of Sociale Verzekeringsbank. Ms. Baloo is currently a member of EU Quantum having been a member of the EU High Level Steering Committee for the FET Quantum Flagship from 2016 - 2017. Ms. Baloo has spoken widely at high profile conferences such as RSA, TEDx and Codemotion on topics including Lawful Interception, VoIP & Mobile Security, Cryptography, and Quantum Communications Networks. Additionally, Ms. Baloo is a faculty member of the Singularity University since 2017, where she regularly lectures.

Stuart Simpson

Chief Financial Officer

Stuart Simpson joined Avast as CFO in September 2021. He was most recently interim CEO at Royal Mail where he guided the organization through the pandemic to deliver financial stability. Previously at the same organization, Simpson held the roles of Group CFO, COO and was also a Board member.
Previously, he was Deputy Group CFO at E2V Technologies PLC, and prior to that held several Director level roles in Finance and Strategy at General Motors, living and working across Europe, Asia and North America.

Julio Bezerra

Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer

Julio Bezerra is Avast’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer. He is responsible for developing, communicating, and executing the company’s strategy including leading major transformation projects. His responsibilities also include Corporate Development and M&A. Prior to joining Avast, Mr. Bezerra served as Managing Director and Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in London, United Kingdom. At BCG he was a core member of the Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice, a global expert in Sales and a pioneer in Big Data Analytics. Mr. Bezerra began his career launching new businesses, including four mobile operator start-ups. Mr. Bezerra has deep experience in articulating strategies in fast moving technology, customer and competitive contexts and in translating strategies into operational plans. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for applying a customer centric perspective to create new value propositions and disrupt go to market. Mr. Bezerra holds an MBA, with distinction, from INSEAD, an MA in marketing from Fundação Getulio Vargas, and a BSc in industrial engineering from Universidade de São Paulo. Mr. Bezerra has extensive international experience (Europe, US, Emerging Markets) and is fluent in five languages.

Rebecca Grattan

Chief Operating Officer

Rebecca Grattan joined Avast as Chief People and Culture Officer in February 2020 and in 2022, she was appointed Chief Operating Officer. She is responsible for the Commercial business, Human Resources, Facilities, and Marketing within the company. She is responsible for the Human Resources and Facilities functions within the company. Ms. Grattan brings extensive global human resources and transformation experience through a career which includes executive, interim, consultancy and non-executive positions in the UK, as well as internationally. Ms. Grattan is adept in designing and implementing strategies which enhance the employee experience and develop a high performance culture. She has an extensive background in operating models and organizational design through work with start-ups, through M&A and publicly listed businesses, and has worked successfully through and with global teams. Ms. Grattan has particular interests in creating an organizational climate and culture where people thrive and where under represented groups can be supported to achieve their potential. She has championed programs to highlight and tackle gender, LGBTQ+ mental health and wellbeing, and has been involved in a range of ‘Women in Tech’ initiatives.

Vita Santrucek

Chief Product Officer

Lisa Carey

Chief Marketing Officer

Lisa Carey is Avast’s Chief Marketing Officer, and joined the company in April, 2020. Prior to joining Avast Ms. Carey served as CMO at Visionable Global, a technology startup for the healthcare industry, based in London, United Kingdom. Before joining Visionable, Ms. Carey was based in Silicon Valley and held a variety of leadership positions as a senior marketer at global technology companies, including Twitter, Facebook, and eBay. Ms. Carey brings more than 20 years of marketing expertise to Avast, having built world-class brands and businesses across all stages of growth, with strategic rigor, keen intuition and creativity. Ms. Carey holds a BA in English from the University of California, Davis.

Peter Turner

Chief Commercial Officer

Charles Walton

Senior Vice President & General Manager, Identity

Trudy Cooke

General Counsel