Zscaler Appoints Diplomat and Tech Executive Casper Klynge as New Vice President and Head of EMEA Government Partnerships

Zscaler, Inc., the leader in cloud security, today announced the appointment of Casper Klynge for the new role as Zscaler’s Vice President, Head of EMEA Government Partnerships.  As part of the Global Government Partnership team, Ambassador (ret.) and tech executive Casper Klynge will lead the public policy work and the strategic relationships and alliances with governments, international and regional organizations, and senior leaders across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Casper will be responsible for helping countries, organizations and critical infrastructure operators mitigate cybersecurity risks, in line with European and national data privacy and regulatory requirements, and driving digital sovereignty initiatives and strategic autonomy aspirations. 

European governments and institutions are moving with an urgency to securely transform their infrastructures to digital and cloud based requirements, in line with the utmost priority for data privacy and protection as well as regulatory obligations. Zscaler, with its global cloud-based and AI-powered Zero Trust security platform, already enables organizations worldwide in their secure adoption of multi-cloud environments, Working from Anywhere, 5G and the digitization of OT infrastructures, AI/ML security to combat the growing cyber risks effectively and can expand the same expertise to the public sector. As data sovereignty has to go hand in hand with cyber security, the new Zscaler function will build strategic partnerships with governments across EMEA to elevate the benefits of the Zero Trust approach and address regulatory affairs.

“I am thrilled to work directly with Casper after having the privilege of collaborating for years while he served as Denmark’s Cyber and Tech Ambassador, and in his various industry leadership roles,” said Ryan Gillis, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Government Partnerships at Zscaler. “Bringing in a European leader of Casper’s experience, seniority and expertise reflects Zscaler’s commitment to building strategic relationships with governments and regional organizations at a critical inflection point for cybersecurity and public policy.”

“I am very proud to join Zscaler at a pivotal time where cybersecurity challenges and data protection concerns driven by the possibilities of AI are becoming top of mind for the private and public sectors alike,” said Casper Klynge, Vice President, Head of EMEA Government Partnerships at Zscaler. “Leveraging secure and future-proof technology has become a key geopolitical issue to achieve digital resilience. It is the very foundation for creating the trust that will be the driver for digital transformation, and thus essential for productivity, economic growth and job creation in the digital decade ahead. I look forward to working with Zscaler colleagues in advancing digital sovereignty and in line with cybersecurity, data protection and privacy requirements as well as sovereign cloud solutions for our partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

About Casper Klynge

Prior to joining Zscaler, Casper Klynge had a unique career working in the intersection between geopolitics, international affairs, security and technology. Casper has a background in foreign affairs spanning several roles in the EU, NATO, and in government with geographical and operational experience from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. His experience includes serving as Denmark’ s (& the world’s first) Ambassador to the global tech industry, Ambassador to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste & ASEAN, and Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus. Casper was the Deputy Head of Mission of NATO’s Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province, Afghanistan as well as Head of Mission of the EU’s civilian crisis management planning mission in Kosovo.

More recently, Casper was Microsoft’s VP for European Government Affairs with responsibility for government affairs across the European continent, and the SVP in the Danish Chamber of Commerce. Casper holds a M.Sc. in Political Science, supplemented by an executive education from Stanford University. He is a 2009 Marshall Memorial Fellow and was in 2018 named among the World’s 100 most influential people in digital government. He is a member of the ECFR Council and serves on the Advisory Board of Think Tank Europe. In 2021 he joined the GLOBSEC Future Security and Defense Council (FSDC), advising NATO on geopolitics as it developed its new Strategic Concept. From 2020-2023 he served on the Executive Board of Digital Europe in Brussels.