Riverbed Appoints Paul Crighton to Lead Sales Across APJ as Company Expands AIOps and Observability Push

Riverbed, a global leader in AIOps-powered observability and acceleration, has appointed seasoned tech executive Paul Crighton as Vice President of Sales for the Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region. The appointment marks a strategic move to deepen Riverbed’s regional footprint as demand grows for AI-enabled IT operations and digital experience optimisation.

Crighton brings over 25 years of technology sales leadership to the role, having held senior positions at Barracuda, NetApp, Blackberry, PGi, Symantec, and Intel Security (McAfee). Most recently, he served as Managing Director at Barracuda, where he led regional operations. At Riverbed, Crighton will report to Chief Revenue Officer Kris Luhrsen and will spearhead sales strategy and execution across the APJ market.

“I’m delighted to welcome Paul to Riverbed,” said Luhrsen. “He’s a people-centric leader with a strong track record in scaling revenue, navigating complex markets, and building robust customer and partner relationships. As we continue to invest in our AI-powered platform, Paul will play a critical role in accelerating our momentum in APJ.”

Riverbed’s technology stack, anchored by its AI-powered observability platform, aims to transform how organisations prevent, identify, and resolve IT issues. The platform integrates Riverbed’s generative, predictive, and agentic AI capabilities, alongside observability modules for unified communications, network traffic, and endpoint devices like Intel® Thunderbolt™ and Wi-Fi-connected systems.

Crighton is stepping into the role at a pivotal time for the company. Just last month, Riverbed announced a sweeping expansion of its observability suite and introduced new acceleration solutions. These include RiOS 10 — its next-gen acceleration software optimised for cloud, data centres, and edge environments — and the new SteelHead 90 series for enhanced network resilience. These offerings are available via Riverbed Flex, a flexible subscription model designed to improve customer agility and investment efficiency.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Riverbed at such an exciting point in its evolution,” said Crighton. “The company’s innovation agenda is clearly resonating with customers who are looking to optimise IT operations and deliver exceptional digital experiences. I look forward to leading the APJ team as we execute on Riverbed’s vision and extend our leadership in this dynamic market.”

With a customer base that includes 95% of the Fortune 100, Riverbed’s solutions are already deployed at scale across enterprise and government sectors. The company’s push into the APJ region — one of the world’s fastest-growing tech markets — signals its intent to capture further market share by pairing world-class technology with local execution.

As IT teams face rising complexity from distributed workforces, hybrid infrastructure, and AI-driven workloads, Riverbed is positioning itself as a critical enabler of performance, security, and user experience. With Crighton at the helm of APJ sales, the company is betting on deep local knowledge and proven leadership to translate that vision into growth.