Massimo Palermo is VP & Country Manager – Italy&Malta at Fortinet. Previously he was Country Manager and Managing Director of Avaya Italia from January 2015 to 30 June 2021.

From 2017 to 2021 he also had responsibility as regional sales director and managing director of the legal entities in the Southern East Europe and Greece area.

Before Avaya he includes, among others, experience in Peregrine System and Hewlett-Packard, where he successfully held various managerial positions in various divisions, reaching the position of Sales Director Top Sales & Services partners for the EMEA area. Previously, still at Hewlett-Packard, he held the position of Country Manager HP Networking (now HPE Aruba) and that of Channel Manager & Mid size Enterprises Sales Manager at HP Software (now Micro Focus).

Graduated in Economics from the La Sapienza University of Rome and with an “Executive MBA” obtained from the Bocconi University of Milan, he has been working in the ICT sector for over 20 years, boasting considerable experience in managing teams and structuring strategy and related go-to-market for business development in the Italian and European markets.

He was an associate representative in Confindustria Digitale in the SME Supply Chain and Digitalization Platforms Steering Committee.

Among the 100 top Italian managers chosen by Forbes for 2021.

Passionate about technology and digital and how their combination with human potential can help create a smarter, safer and more inclusive world.

He loves golf, tennis, oenology, cinema and travelling.