Leadership
Florin Talpes: CEO
Mr. Talpes is CEO of BitDefender, one of the industry's fastest and most effective lines of internationally certified security software. In 1990 together with his wife Mariuca, he created SOFTWIN, the biggest Romanian software and services company. Founded in 2001 BitDefender is now a company with its solutions distributed by a global network of value-added distribution and reseller partners in more than 100 countries worldwide. Being one of the Romanian software industry pioneers, Mr. Talpes was also the founder and former President of the National Association of Software Services Industry (ANIS) in Romania. As President, he led a team to develop the National Strategy for software services in Romania. Mr. Talpes is a Math University graduate with a Master in Operator’s Theory
Bogdan Irina: Business Development Director
As Business Development Director, Mr. Irina manages commercial teams in Romania, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom and the United States for the Company, along with business development, negotiation and partnerships in over twenty-five countries. He is responsible for the development of global business, marketing and sales strategies. He also facilitates project management in both the technical and commercial segments. With a comprehensive, working knowledge of software, Bogdan rounds out his thorough understanding of business having previously owned his own successful retail firm. Mr. Irina holds a degree in law from the Spiru Haret University of Bucharest and Master of Business Administration from Bucharest/Ottawa School of Management.
Beau Roberts: Global Marketing Director
Mr. Roberts is the Global Marketing Director for BitDefender. He is a software and Internet security industry veteran with 20 years of experience in product management and marketing roles for companies such as Cheyenne Software, Computer Associates, McAfee, and Trend Micro. At McAfee.com, Mr. Roberts managed the transition of the company's consumer security product line to subscription-based online services, helping build the business from zero to over 50M of revenue and 1M subscribers, and enabling a successful IPO.
Lucian Cristea, Global Sales Director
As Global Sales Director, Mr. Lucian Cristea oversees BitDefender’s sales operations worldwide, ensuring implementation of BitDefender’s sales strategy. Mr. Cristea joined BitDefender in May 2004 as Sales Director. In this position he ran the company’s sales operations until late 2006, when headed the management of subsidiaries’ operations. At this time, Mr. Cristea also took on the role of Secretary of the Board until December 2007. He then joined the newly created Business Analysis Department, providing consultative support for BitDefender’s CEO. In spite of his Master of Science in Aeronautics, he has dedicated his last 20 years to sales and marketing in multinational companies in the telecom and software industries.
Bogdan Dumitru: CTO
As the CTO, Mr. Dumitru heads up a development team of more than 160 people, developing industry-leading security solutions that not only target today’s security threats, but also can defend against zero-day attacks. Pursuing a passion for computer security, he joined BitDefender over 10 years ago. He had previously created his own antivirus solution called Sherlock Holmes AV. Mr. Dumitru is a graduate of the Mathematics University of Bucharest.
Viorel Canja: Head of Antimalware Lab
As Head of BitDefender’s Antimalware Lab, Mr. Canja leads up a team comprised of some of the most experienced virologists in the world and manages the engine development and virus research efforts for BitDefender. He is personally responsible for growing the Antimalware Labs from five to more than 40 people in six years. The group’s production and response time to new threats is among the best in the industry-garnering accolades from some of the most trusted institutions and publications in the world. Prior to his current position, Mr. Canja, held positions within BitDefender as a virus researcher, an engine developer and manager of the engine development team. He is a graduate of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.
Vince Hwang: Global Director, Product Management
As the Global Director of Product Management, Mr. Hwang oversees all product and technology development strategies. He brings with him over a decade of strategic, operational, and product management experience that span across multiple technology domains. Prior to joining BitDefender, Mr. Hwang played key roles in driving product strategies at companies that include Trend Micro and Symantec. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from U.C. Berkeley and a Master of Business Administration from the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University.
Peter Laakkonen: General Manager OEM and Technology Licensing
As General Manager for OEM and Technology Licensing, Mr. Laakkonen is responsible for the business unit developing, managing and directing BitDefender’s global business operations with OEM, licensing and re-branding customers. Having +20 years multi-cultural experience in hi-tech and information security fields he joins the company from Kaspersky Lab Customized Solutions, where Mr. Laakkonen as its CEO brought the company into worldwide leadership in the OEM market. Before Kaspersky he worked as senior executive for many data security companies including F-Secure Inc., which Mr. Laakkonen, as its founder and President, established as strong content security player in North America resulting into company’s successful IPO and global leadership in security as a service and mobile security markets.
