PRAGUE and REDWOOD CITY,
Calif., July 2, 2019
/PRNewswire/ -- Avast (LSE:AVST), announced it has
appointed Michal Pěchouček to the position of Chief Technology
Officer (CTO), effective September 1,
2019. Michal Pěchouček joins from the highly regarded Czech
Technical University in Prague
(CTU) where he is an established professor at the Faculty of
Electrical Engineering leading the Department of Computer Science
and the Artificial Intelligence Center, which he founded nearly two
decades ago.
Ondrej Vlcek, Avast's new Chief
Executive Officer, said of the appointment, "Michal's experience in
academia and industry, his ability to connect ideas, people, and
resources from different fields, and his track record in leading
successful teams make him the ideal fit for our CTO role. One of
his core responsibilities will be to further our research in AI,
machine learning, and cybersecurity. Michal will also be leading
our core technology and R&D teams to support the work of our
Threat Labs, and our big data and innovation teams. I am excited to
have him and his colleagues join us, helping us to forge a stronger
collaboration with academia in this fast-moving field of applied
research."
Michal Pěchouček is recognized worldwide for his contribution to
research in computer science and AI applications and is an author
of number of highly cited papers. He will bring to the role fresh
insights based on his practical and academic experience. He was the
prime mover behind the creation of the AVAST Chair of Cybersecurity
at CTU, and in 2019, he also established the AVAST funded joint
CTU/Avast AI and Cybersecurity Laboratory and will continue to
support this project in his role as Avast's CTO. He will keep his
professorship and will continue to run the university AI Center. He
will be joined by three leading fellow AI scientists, who will work
to expand Avast's understanding of how artificial intelligence can
radically improve society's ability to protect against increasingly
sophisticated cyber threats. These three scientists will continue
to spend one day a week teaching and advising PhD students at the
university in order to further reinforce the existing AVAST/CTU
collaboration.
Michal Pěchouček commented, "This paves a new way for industry
and academia to work together on some of the biggest and most
exciting research-based challenges of our time. Avast's commitment
to funding ongoing and new research in AI and machine learning
enables CTU to demonstrate its expertise in these fields, helping
attract and retain the best and brightest minds. Avast is
recognized as the AI company in the field of cybersecurity, so I'm
looking forward to getting started in my new role and together with
engineers and scientists from AVAST and their colleagues from CTU
to further develop AI to help people to be safe on the
internet."
Mr. Pěchouček previously had co-founded several technology
start-ups including cyber security firm Cognitive Security (in 2013
acquired by CISCO), AgentFly, which specializes in controlling
autonomous aircraft traffic and BlindSpot Solutions, which develops
AI for industrial applications (in 2017 acquired by Adastra Group).
He also directed the R&D Center of AI and Computer Security for
CISCO and later worked as a strategist in the CISCO Security CTO
office.
About Avast
Avast (LSE:AVST) is the global leader in
digital security products. With over 400 million users online,
Avast offers products under the Avast and AVG brands that protect
people from threats on the internet and the evolving IoT threat
landscape. The company's threat detection network is among the most
advanced in the world, using machine learning and artificial
intelligence technologies to detect and stop threats in real time.
Avast digital security products for Mobile, PC or Mac are
top-ranked and certified by VB100, AV-Comparatives, AV-Test,
OPSWAT, West Coast Labs and others. Visit: www.avast.com.
Media Contact:
pr@avast.com
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SOURCE Avast