Movers and Shakers: DigiCert Promotes COO John Merrill to CEO

DigiCert, a global trusted identity and authentication services provider for enterprise web applications and the IoT, has named John Merrill its new CEO. Merrill has been serving as the company's COO since August 2013. Merrill takes over for Nicholas Hales, who will step back from day-to-day operations and will continue to advise the company on strategic projects.  

“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to lead this great company,” said Merrill. “I look forward to building upon the DigiCert legacy of innovation, customer focus and industry leadership. We will continue pursuing an aggressive growth strategy as a global leader in web security and the Internet of Things.”

Since joining DigiCert more than three years ago, Merrill has been overseeing the company’s finance, operations, sales and emerging markets divisions, along with Hales. Merrill led the DigiCert acquisition of Verizon's Enterprise SSL business, and expanded its global footprint through EMEA, and in Asia via a partnership with Cybertrust Japan.

Hales, who joined DigiCert as COO in 2010 and was named CEO in 2012, will continue to advise the company on special projects. During his tenure at DigiCert, Hales has led the company through an important transformation from a successful startup to one of the world's leading providers of enterprise PKI and trusted identity. Hales was recently named 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the Utah region.

DigiCert works with the world’s largest brands to protect their enterprise web and expanding IoT deployments for healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology, home automation, automotive, retail, banking and many other industries. With a focus on innovation, automation, scalability and expertise to simplify customer PKI deployments, DigiCert continues to provide its services to leading companies, including six of the global Alexa Top 10.