Friday's Last Word: Vormetric CEO Alan Kessler — Who exactly is he?

Vormetric CEO Alan Kessler joined the San Jose, California-based enterprise encryption and key management services provider in 2012. As CEO, he has been working to expand Vormetric's global footprint, target untapped market opportunities and achieve operational excellence.

Prior to Vormetric, Kessler held leadership positions at HP, TippingPoint (a division of 3Com), Attune Systems and Palm, Inc.

What are his plans for Vormetric?

"We're going to grow like crazy," he says. "We are introducing a raft of new products in the first half of the year. Our cloud partner program is seeing phenomenal growth well in excess of 100 percent."

Who does Kessler challenge to sit in the hot seat?

Jim Lewandowski, CEO of FireHost.

What is "Friday's Last Word"?

Friday's Last Word welcomes cloud-centric CEOs who are willing to speak with Talkin' Cloud without someone peeking over a shoulder. Click on each photo to learn more about the CEO you're viewing — it's that simple.

Think you can handle sitting in the hot seat? Send an email to Talkin' Cloud Senior Editor CJ Arlotta at cj.arlotta [at] penton.com for further information. If he doesn't get back to you right away, bother him some more — and more.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta and Google+ for further updates on the story above — or if you just want to say hello.