Val Rahmani is the CEO of Damballa, a company that brings a new approach to the fight against modern cyber-threats. Val brings over 25 years of customer-driven business and technical leadership to the role. Prior to Damballa, Val served as General Manager of IBM’s Internet Security Systems (ISS) division, after she made IBM’s $1.3 billion acquisition of the company. Before that, she held several general management roles within IBM, including multi-billion dollar hardware, software and services businesses. Her IBM experience includes wireless, telco, utilities, media and government markets across the world. She also ran a strategy unit, where she focused on emerging markets, global alliances and services business models.

Val was born in the United Kingdom and first came to the United States as Executive Assistant to Lou Gerstner, soon after he became Chairman and CEO of IBM. She is an accomplished speaker, keynoting security and general business events. She is a Board Member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber Technology Leadership Council and Chairman of the Workforce Development Subcommittee. She is also a Board Member of Teradici, a PC-over-IP company in Vancouver, Canada. Val holds an MA and a Doctor of Philosophy from Oxford University in England, and is a member of the British aerobatics team.