Acronis taps Steven McChesney as new CMO

Acronis has announced it has brought on industry veteran Steven McChesney as its new chief marketing officer.

McChesney will be charged with helping build awareness of both the Acronis brand as well as the significance of cyber protection in 2020, with a larger focus on an overall marketing strategy.

He will also attend to expediting the transition of on-premises to cloud, and the acquisition of various service providers to help with this transition.

Acronis points to recent research to justify its investment in the cloud: while IDC's revised forecast predicts a 5.1% decline in worldwide IT spending in 2020, it also demonstrates the growing enterprise demand for cloud services around the world.

McChesney comes prepared, with over 30 years of technology marketing experience under his belt, having previously held leadership positions at several IT and technology organisations.

"Steven McChesney brings strong leadership skills and a wealth of experience to our company," says Acronis founder and chief executive officer Serguei Beloussov.

"In this role, he will help to extend our global leadership in cyber protection and bring Acronis' marketing to the next level."

McChesney has extensive experience in the fields of technology marketing, sales, and business development, with his most recent position being the vice president of global marketing for F5 Networks.

Prior to that role, he held various positions at F5, Druva, and Visio, as well as Midisoft and Egghead Software.

Acronis says McChesney's experience through his range of workplaces will bring valuable insights in driving demand at scale.

His extended tenure and expertise in traditional, digital, and partner marketing will help Acronis improve its efficiency, as well as accelerate Acronis' development as a world-leading marketing organization.

As part of his role, McChesney will also build on the success of Acronis Cyber Protect, the company's cyber protection solution that provides users with a unique, AI-enhanced integration of backup, anti-malware, and security management.

This market-leading solution eliminates the security gaps that exist with patchwork, multi-vendor solutions and enables service providers and customers to manage and secure data through a unified management interface – without the need for new hardware, staff or training.

"I look forward to working closely with the Acronis team on the expansion of a new industry category – cyber protection," says Steven McChesney.

"It's clear that traditional backup practices are no longer sufficient, making cyber protection necessary.

"As Acronis' Chief Marketing Officer, I plan to grow the industry's knowledge of this revolutionary approach.