Naoris Protocol snaps up former IBM chief scientist to lead its strategy

Former IBM chief scientist and global DNS system designer David Holtzman has been snapped up by decentralised cyber security provider Naoris Protocol as its new chief strategy officer. 

The appointment follows a six-month period in which Holtzman has been working with the company in an advisory capacity distributed systems, cyber security, and blockchain.

A renowned dotcom strategist in Web2 and Web3, Holtzman will be responsible for developing and executing the Portuguese firm’s strategic roadmap, advising on product suite expansions, as well as providing guidance to assist with cyber security growth across Web 2 and 3.

In an announcement, Naoris Protocol CEO and co-founder David Carvalho said Holtzman’s depth of knowledge in both Web2 and 3 technologies will be a key asset to the business as it gears up to launch new products this year.

“We are excited to further utilise David’s incredible depth of knowledge and experience in the cyber security space,” he said. “He has been a key advisor to Naoris Protocol and now with the launch getting closer, he’ll add significant strategic value as a member of the C-suite.”

An early internet pioneer, Holtzman has designed and built numerous information management systems, and has authored several major patents.

In the late 90s, he oversaw the global domain name system (DNS), and, as CTO of Network Solutions, he managed the internet’s master root server – overseeing the commercial web’s growth from 500,000 to the first 20 million domain names. 

Prior to that, he was a chief scientist at IBM and ran a major research group at Booz-Allen. For the last six years, he has worked as a consultant to blockchain companies, advising on software architecture and protocols for blockchain-based information systems built on crypto tokens. He is also a former military codebreaker. 

“Working with Naoris Protocol has been an incredible journey, and I am thrilled at the prospect of being able to expand my role as their chief strategy officer,” Holtzman said. “My experience, combined with their leading edge tech and innovation will see decentralised cyber security become the norm in the not too distant future.”

According to the latest research from MarketsandMarkets, the cyber security mesh space is expected to grow from $0.9 billion to $2.6 billion by 2027.

Naoris is well-positioned to take advantage of this growth, being named by the research firm as a ‘major player’ in the market.

“In a world where the volume of cyber attacks is increasing exponentially, we need to have eyes on the future of cyber security,” Carvalho said. “We can no longer use the rear-view mirror approach to anticipate what’s to come. 

“Web 3 has materially changed the requirements of cyber security, and the need for decentralised solutions will continue to grow and evolve as Web3 matures.”