Bringing years of expertise in developing, implementing and directing channel and distribution sales models, Mr. Ross will oversee the expansion of RSA Security's ongoing drive to deliver greater financial rewards and more efficient tools to channel partners to better enable the realization of market opportunities. Mr. Ross will report to Brien Naylon, Vice President of Americas Sales at RSA Security.

"A key focus for us this year has been to ensure that our channel partners are as well-enabled, informed and rewarded as possible - and that doing business with RSA Security is getting easier all the time," said Mr. Naylon. "Michael's great success with parallel initiatives at Nokia in recent years makes him a formidable asset - both to our team and to our partners - and I am excited about the expertise and potential for yet more progress that he brings."

Michael was most recently in charge of the development and implementation of Nokia's two-tier channel and distribution model. While at Nokia, he was responsible for the global channel and distribution strategy, defining the company's Channel Accreditation Program and managing the Americas channel team with annual revenues of $150 million. A graduate of Michigan State University, he previously held positions at Panamax and Gateway Computers.

"RSA Security is focused on helping partners realize the full potential of its range of solutions, including secure enterprise access and enterprise single sign-on. For the channel this means a commitment to communication, training and ease-of-access," said Mr. Ross. "The security of identities, and the means to leverage identities simply and conveniently, is a key business driver today, and I am looking forward to furthering RSA's recognised efforts to ensure that its enabling solutions are readily available to the widest possible audience."