Upwind Appoints Rinki Sethi as Chief Security Officer to Accelerate the Runtime Security Revolution

Cybersecurity veteran brings executive experience from Palo Alto Networks, Twitter, and Rubrik to scale the cloud security leader as the industry shifts toward real-time protection

SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Upwind, the runtime-first cloud security platform, announced today the appointment of cybersecurity industry leader Rinki Sethi as Chief Security Officer. In this role, Sethi will lead Upwind's global Information Security and Technology functions, while also helping drive company-wide strategy across marketing, go-to-market, and customer engagement-accelerating the adoption of runtime security across the enterprise.

Sethi joins Upwind at a defining moment for the industry and for the company. Following 4,000% YoY revenue growth in 2024, 40% customer expansion and more than 30 product updates in Q1 2025, Upwind has become a formidable challenger to legacy CNAPP vendors by delivering what others can't: real-time, runtime-first detection, and protection across every layer of the cloud stack.

A recognized cybersecurity executive and board member, Sethi brings over two decades of experience building and scaling security programs at companies such as Twitter, BILL, Rubrik, Walmart, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, and eBay/PayPal, while serving on the boards of Vaultree and ForgeRock. She is also a founding partner at Lockstep Ventures, where she invests in the next generation of cybersecurity innovation and disruption. As one of Upwind's early customers, Sethi brings a unique perspective from both the customer and boardroom lens-making her a natural fit to help lead the company's next phase of growth.

"Rinki is one of the most respected CISOs in the world, and her decision to join Upwind is a major signal of where the future of cloud security is headed," said Amiram Shachar, CEO and co-founder of Upwind. "She was one of the first to recognize that runtime context transforms how we secure the cloud. Now, she'll help scale that vision globally with the technical depth, customer empathy, and executive horsepower to match."

Unlike traditional cloud security tools that rely on static rules and fragmented signals, Upwind delivers a unified CNAPP platform that combines agentless visibility with eBPF-powered runtime detection. By integrating CSPM, CWPP, CDR, vulnerability management, and identity security into a single platform, and grounding it all in live runtime activity, Upwind helps security teams focus on what matters and act before threats become incidents. Customers report up to 95% fewer alerts and dramatically faster time-to-remediation.

"As a CISO, I lived the pain of chasing dashboards while incidents unfolded in real-time," said Rinki Sethi, Chief Security Officer of Upwind. "Upwind is the first platform I've seen that flips the model, from reactive noise to real-time decisions. As an early customer, I experienced how powerful it is to operate with full runtime context. That's why I'm joining Upwind, to help build the future I always wanted as a practitioner."

Sethi holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science Engineering from UC Davis and a master's degree in Information Security from Capella University. She is a widely recognized industry voice, passionate mentor, and advocate for women in security. Outside of work, she's a mom of two, a fitness enthusiast, and an active supporter of startups shaping the next wave of cybersecurity innovation.

About Upwind

Upwind is the next-generation cloud security platform that helps organizations run faster and more securely. Designed for today's dynamic, cloud-native environments, Upwind combines cloud security posture with real-time runtime context to deliver actionable protection across the entire application lifecycle. Founded by Amiram Shachar and the team behind Spot.io (acquired by NetApp for $450M), Upwind is backed by Greylock, Cyberstarts, Leaders Fund, Craft Ventures, Cerca Partners, Penny Jar (founded by NBA star Steph Curry), and Sheva (founded by NBA player Omri Casspi). The company has raised $180M since its founding in 2022. Learn more at www.upwind.io.

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