"Surfing is the only time I truly disconnect; I don't think about anything but the next wave."

Meet Alon Yardeni, father of three and Director of Product Management of Cortex XSOAR.

Although there's a big difference between Alon's professional role and surfing, he tells us that there are also parallels, "Just like when I paddle towards a wave, knowing it'll be a challenge to catch it, many times in my career, I went towards the places I knew would be the most challenging. That's how I ended up at Palo Alto Networks."

Alon joined us at a point in his career when he was looking for a unique workplace. "When I realized I was ready for the next step in my career, I looked for a company with interesting products but also one with good people, a place where it would be fun to go to work every morning. The people impressed me a lot, and in the end, that's what tipped the scale."

After years of struggling to explain to those around him what he exactly does, today, Alon's problem is partially solved: "Nowadays, the environment around me understands the impact of the things I work on daily. My mom calls me every time Palo Alto Networks is mentioned in the news, whether it's a criminal the FBI arrested following our cooperation, a serious cyberattack we managed to prevent, or if the stock price has risen again," says Alon.

As a Director, Alon not only influences our product but also directly influences the team he manages. "My guiding thought is always: What will enable our customers to get the most value? What's most important to improve? And just like the customer experience is important to me, the experience of my employees is significant to me during the difficult times we're all going through, and I strive to be there for everyone."