Ian Farquhar

Ian Farquhar has a diverse work experience spanning several companies and roles. Ian began their career at Macquarie University as a Computer Systems Officer, where they worked on MS-DOS and CP/M-80 systems and specialized in DTP and digital typography. Ian later became a Senior Unix System Administrator, responsible for deploying the university's first Unix super-servers and supercomputer. Farquhar also held special responsibility for security as the campus's first security officer and contact for SERT (later AUSCERT).

Farquhar then joined SGI as a Product Support Engineer, where they managed the introduction and support of various SGI products. Ian also served as the representative on the SGI Supercomputer User's group and was part of the product security response team.

After that, Farquhar worked at Sun Microsystems Network Security Group, where they first served as a Senior Systems Engineer/SE Team Leader, managing a team of six sales engineers. Ian then transitioned to the role of Senior Network Security Engineer, responsible for maintaining technical security policies and standards across Sun Microsystems.

Next, Farquhar joined Cisco Systems as a Customer Support Engineer before becoming a Network Consulting Engineer. In this role, they delivered security consulting services to customers throughout the Asia Pacific region, working with major enterprises and service providers. Farquhar also worked with clients such as Telstra, China Construction Bank, and Malaysia Telekom.

Following their time at Cisco, Farquhar joined RSA - The Security Division of EMC as an Advisory Technology Consultant and Technology Evangelist. Ian specialized in enterprise and government information security solutions, with a regional focus on the Federal Government and Queensland. Farquhar was also a product specialist for the RSA Data Loss Prevention Suite and achieved significant sales success.

Currently, Farquhar is working at Gigamon, where they have held multiple roles. Ian began as a Security Virtual Team Lead and Sales Engineer for Australia and New Zealand. Ian was then promoted to the position of Distinguished Sales Engineer, responsible for high-complexity sales in government, enterprise, and commercial sectors. Farquhar later became the Field Chief Technology Officer (Global), providing thought leadership and strategic direction to Gigamon customers worldwide. Ian also briefly served as the acting Chief Information Security Officer, implementing critical changes and projects to enhance Gigamon's security posture.

In their current role at Gigamon as the Security Chief Technology Officer, Farquhar focuses on the needs of the company's hybrid multi-cloud customers, especially government clients. Ian provides thought leadership and strategic direction on zero trust, security architecture, and cryptographic technologies.

Ian Farquhar attended Macquarie University from 1986 to 1991 and obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.