Evan Kaplan
VP of Business Development
SonicWALL

Evan Kaplan is an experienced executive and widely recognized visionary in the networking and security industry. He served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for Aventail Corporation for 10 years prior to its sale to SonicWALL. Kaplan co-founded Aventail in 1996 and pioneered the first commercial implementation of SSL based Virtual Private Network (SSL VPN) and the industry's first Managed Extranet service. He grew Aventail into the market's leading SSL VPN technology company, focused on providing enterprise secure communications solutions. Prior to Aventail, Kaplan served in a variety of executive positions in the Data Communications and Aerospace industries.

Kaplan is seen as a pioneer in the Networking industry. He was named by Network World as one of the 50 most powerful people in networking and by Ernst & Young as Northwest Entrepreneur of the Year.

Kaplan serves on the Board of Directors for The Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington. In addition he serves on the Board of Directors of Trusera and as an advisor to a variety of technology startups. He is a member of the Young Presidents Organization. Kaplan holds a BS from Western Washington University, and an MBA from the University of Washington.