Qualys CEO Courtot Departs for Health Reasons

Cloud security firm Qualys says its CEO, Philippe Courtot, has resigned from the role for health reasons.

The company says Courtot took a leave of absence due to health issues unrelated to COVID-19 in February. Sumedh Thakar, Qualys' president and chief product officer, was named interim CEO and principal executive officer, and appointed to the Board. Thakar remains in those positions following today's announcement.

Courtot, 76, joined Qualys in March 2001 as chairman and CEO when the company was still in its infancy. Prior to his time with Qualys, Courtot was a well-known entrepreneur and served as the chairman and CEO of electronic payment startup Signio, which was acquired by VeriSign in 2000. Courtot previously founded cc:Mail in 1988 and sold it to Lotus for $55 million in 1991. He was also President and CEO of Verity before joining Signio.

Courtot will remain a director until his current term expires at Qualys' 2021 annual meeting of stockholders. Thakar will continue to serve on the Board as a Class III director until Qualys' 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, or until his successor is appointed.

The full release on Courtot's departure can be read here.