Why I Joined Cloudflare’s APJC Team
I joined Cloudflare in March to lead Partnerships & Alliances for Asia Pacific, Japan, and China (APJC). In the past month, many people have asked me why I chose this company over other opportunities. The honest answer is that while I’ve had chances to join other technology firms, none of them excited me as much as Cloudflare. That conviction led me to jump at the role, and I’m eager to build a robust partner ecosystem across the region.
When I first considered the move, the company’s mission of “Helping to Build a Better Internet” didn’t immediately resonate with me—though it clearly mattered. My research, including reading analyst reports on Cloudflare’s market position, soon revealed the bigger picture: Cloudflare is driving a transformation. It’s replacing traditional on-premise networking and security hardware with a cloud-based solution, freeing customers from worrying about which vendor supplied their equipment. What stands out is that customers can simply tap into a vast global network engineered to make their internet connections secure, private, fast, and reliable. While compute and storage have largely undergone this shift already, Cloudflare is at the forefront of doing the same for networking and security—and I wanted to be part of that.
As I dug deeper, I felt a strong connection to Project Galileo. This initiative provides Cloudflare’s security services at no cost to vulnerable groups—social activists, humanitarian organizations, minority groups, and political dissenters—who face repeated malicious cyber attacks aimed at silencing them. Knowing Cloudflare is involved in something beyond technological change, protecting those who are often targeted, was inspiring to me.
Assessing the Culture from the Inside
Now that I’m on the inside, I keep finding reasons why Cloudflare is the right place to work. Female leadership is well represented at the highest levels. Our President, COO, and co-founder Michelle Zatlyn took time to meet me during my interview process, and Chief Product Officer Jen Taylor gave me a warm welcome when I met her in Sydney while she was connecting with customers and partners.
A standout moment came in my third week at a team gathering. I met a new colleague and we bonded immediately. She had built a career in sports that was upended by the pandemic, leaving her among the many who lost their jobs. What moved me was how Cloudflare turned that adversity into an opportunity to bring diverse talent on board. The company welcomed her in, created a path into a Business Development role, and she is now an Associate Solutions Engineer. It’s rare to see a company deliberately craft that kind of journey, and I’m working with leaders committed to making it happen.
Building a Partner Ecosystem
Early in my career, I learned the value of strong partnerships—committing to joint goals, building trust, celebrating wins, and supporting each other through tough times. That principle now anchors my top priority at Cloudflare: fostering a culture of partnering. Partners are a key extension of our team, offering customers deeper engagement and expert knowledge on Cloudflare products and services.
Our initial focus will be on building Zero Trust Partner Practices. Many APJC businesses are planning Zero Trust strategies in response to rising cyber attacks. This year, we’re rolling out sales and technical enablement combined with marketing funding to accelerate partner ramp-up in this area. The team will also lean on partnerships offering professional services and consulting that support customer implementations. Our partners are critical to joint success, and together we can guide customers through their network and security transformation.
To cap it off, I’m pleased to share that co-founders Matthew Prince and Michelle Zatlyn will be in Sydney in September for Cloudflare Connect. I look forward to using that platform to share more on our APJC partnerships strategy and to launch the APJC Partner Advisory Board.
