# Ritesh Agrawal

> Ritesh Agrawal is a network-security engineer turned founder who co-founded Airgap Networks in 2019 to attack the problem most enterprises ignore: lateral movement once an attacker is already inside the building. His bet was that you do not trust any device, period. Zscaler acquired Airgap in April 2024, and its agentless, identity-based microsegmentation became the foundation of Zscaler's Zero Trust Branch, which Ritesh now leads as VP of Product Management. Before founding the company he spent nearly 18 years at Juniper Networks across engineering, product, and sales.

- **Role:** VP, Product Management (Zero Trust Branch) at Zscaler
- **Organizations:** Zscaler, Airgap Networks, Juniper Networks, K2K Angels, craigsnumber.com
- **Nationality:** Indian-American
- **Education:** Stanford Executive Program (SEP), Stanford University Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led Airgap Networks to acquisition by Zscaler in April 2024, Built agentless, identity-based microsegmentation that became the technical foundation of Zscaler's Zero Trust Branch, Pioneered Zero Trust Isolation for IoT/OT and unmanaged devices where traditional agents cannot run

## Career timeline

- **~2001-2018** — Nearly 18 years at Juniper Networks across engineering, product management, and sales, including Senior Software Manager in Ethernet switching
- **2018** — Enrolled in the Stanford Executive Program at the GSB
- **2019** — Co-founded Airgap Networks with Vinay Adavi and Satish Mohan; became CEO
- **2023** — Airgap unveils ThreatGPT, integrating generative AI into its Zero Trust Firewall
- **2024-04** — Zscaler acquires Airgap Networks; Airgap becomes the foundation of Zscaler's Zero Trust Branch
- **2024** — Becomes VP of Product Management at Zscaler, leading Zero Trust Branch strategy and execution

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led Airgap Networks to acquisition by Zscaler in April 2024
- Built agentless, identity-based microsegmentation that became the technical foundation of Zscaler's Zero Trust Branch
- Pioneered Zero Trust Isolation for IoT/OT and unmanaged devices where traditional agents cannot run
- Co-founded K2K Angels, a non-profit supporting and mentoring early-stage startup founders

## Latest updates

- **2024-04** — Airgap Networks acquired by Zscaler; Ritesh transitions to VP of Product Management leading Zero Trust Branch.
- **2024** — Zscaler ships Zero Trust segmentation for LAN environments built on Airgap's agentless technology.

## Links

- Website: https://airgap.io
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/helloritesh

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ritesh-agrawal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-08