Ep. 16 Security for the Cloud + AI Era: A Conversation with Sanjay Beri, CEO of Netskope

In this episode, we sit down with Sanjay Beri, founder and CEO of Netskope, to explore how he built one of the most innovative cybersecurity companies of our time—now generating $500M+ in revenue and protecting over one-third of the Fortune 100.

We dive deep into:

• The vision behind Netskope and its role in a multi-hundred billion dollar market shift

• Why balancing strategic foresight with day-to-day customer interaction is core to Sanjay’s leadership style

• How Netskope hires for culture over pedigree, and why empathy and openness are part of formal performance reviews

• The company’s product strategy, GTM evolution, and approach to navigating AI security

• Lessons from scaling during the pandemic and how to train a team for high-growth execution

• And—how Sanjay personally decompresses after building a global enterprise platform

This conversation is full of practical insights for founders, operators, and anyone building in the enterprise space.

Episode Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro
00:53 – The Journey to Netskope
06:06 – “Living in the clouds and in the trenches” — explained
07:53 – Hiring philosophy: culture vs credentials
14:51 – Ensuring employees align with the company’s vision
20:21 – Building Platforms vs Products
32:43 – Changing processes to enable scale
41:52 – Toughest parts of scale and standing out in tough markets
52:07 – The rise of AI and “shadow AI” in the enterprise
58:40 – Decompress with Sanjay: Personal strategies for relaxation and focus