What separates good CEOs from great ones? According to Proofpoint CEO Sumit Dhawan, it’s the ability to build belief. In this episode of Beyond the Deal, Thoma Bravo Managing Partner Seth Boro sits down with Sumit to discuss the leadership principles behind scaling a high-performing, human-centric cybersecurity company. From growing up in Delhi and learning the value of hard work and ownership, to leading a global public company, Sumit reflects on how transparency, storytelling, discipline, and mentorship build trust and unlock the best work from teams—and why building belief may be the most underrated skill in leadership today.
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AIR DATE:
January 22, 2026
LENGTH:
09:41 minutes
ANDREW ALMEIDA (00:00):
You and I got a call from the sitting CEO on a Saturday, I believe, or no, it was a Friday. It was a Friday.
SUMIT DHAWAN (00:00):
I think the most underrated skill as a CEO is to build belief in the team. I really think it sort of tests multiple things together. And then once that belief kicks in, the best work from people comes out.
ORLANDO BRAVO (00:19):
Welcome to Thoma Bravo's Beyond the Deal. I'm Orlando Bravo founder and managing partner at Thoma Bravo. Today we're going deeper with Sumit Dhawan, who is CEO of Proofpoint, an industry leader in human-centric cybersecurity. In this episode, you'll hear Thoma Bravo managing partner, Seth Boro, speak with Sumit about his background, his take on mentorship, and how he maintains order and a balanced life. Let's dig in.
SETH BORO (00:51):
Sumit, thanks for being here today. We have a lot more to talk about as we get behind the scenes on this week's episode of Beyond the Deal. Maybe let's start at the beginning a little bit. Where did you grow up? What were the early years like? What were some important events in your life that kind of brought you on this journey?
SUMIT DHAWAN (01:10):
I grew up in Delhi. Both my parents were working and I saw them just kind of work hard and provide as good of a life as they can by just working hard. So just the work ethics I think, my parents, just observation and just always guidance from them. They taught me that. And then I was blessed to go to a great school, IIT and coming to the US did great education. And I always had a little bit of, I guess, entrepreneurial thing in me. So I went, worked for a smaller company, just grew through it and just learned the fact that you have to just think the place that you work for, you gotta think like you're the owner. If you don't, it's just not fun. And so that's just been something I've lived with.
SETH BORO (01:59):
In general, how do you describe your communication style and what's been your leadership philosophy around that?
SUMIT DHAWAN (02:06):
I'm very transparent in my communication. I think that was a little bit of a surprise for me even at Proofpoint or in prior places. People sort of think that they just can manage people by communicating what they think is right. But at the end of the day, most people are smart and I give them credit and I just make sure that I communicate with transparency. It's not popular, but it's not about popularity. I think it's about transparency. People appreciate it. I think you have to combine the transparency with building belief. So the two things is what I focus on. What's the story that gives everyone the mission and belief? And we keep reinforcing that, but give transparency on what's working well to achieving that and what's not. And what we need from everyone to make sure that we do. Not everyone's going to be excited to hear that.
(02:55):
There are going to be people who will be naysayers. The sooner you know who they are, the better.
SETH BORO (02:59):
Okay. You're in the email security business. Do you run a zero email inbox or how do you manage that?
SUMIT DHAWAN (03:07):
I actually run a very low inbox. I have a number in mind when I'm traveling and I have a number in mind when I'm in the office and the emails need to be below that in my inbox.
SETH BORO (03:19):
You're very disciplined.
SUMIT DHAWAN (03:20):
Or else I'm not going home. It just will bother me.
SETH BORO (03:23):
You run your life that way? Do you have those sort of like personal goals for like everything you do?
SUMIT DHAWAN (03:30):
You know, as part of my mentorship, this is a strange thing and I still live it this way. Once a year, I update my goals document and it has three goals: family, community and career or business or whatever. So I kind of do look at it that way, but it's not on a daily basis where I have to do it. I think I get this personal satisfaction of checking things off a list. So that's probably the real reason that it's about personal satisfaction of going home and at least getting a win of checking items off the list.
SETH BORO (04:04):
I have a lot of emails in my inbox. Can I just delete them all and start over?
SUMIT DHAWAN (04:10):
That's the best way. If you haven't read it in a while, just delete them. Maybe Andrew will call you.
SETH BORO (04:14):
I know, right? Anyway, I'm glad that I've never been phished, but I'm sometimes I-
SUMIT DHAWAN (04:19):
You're protected by us. Don't worry.
SETH BORO (04:20):
Yeah, that's true. I do feel very safe. I know we're both big Warriors fans.
SUMIT DHAWAN (04:25):
Yes, we are.
SETH BORO (04:26):
Because I often run into you there. When did that passion start for you and do you have a prediction on the season?
SUMIT DHAWAN (04:33):
Firstly, I like watching sports. Sports is kind of like my alternate universe, both playing and watching. I have to go to it because I keep thinking about work when I'm not in that alternate universe. So that's just my way of putting my mind to rest. I think the Warriors are good this year. I think with Steph, we can beat any team. We probably could have even last season. I know there may be some naysayers out there, but I think we can go long. As long as Steph stays healthy through the playoffs, we can beat any team.
SETH BORO (05:02):
Does it offend you also when they talk about how old the team is and then they're like old as like 36? I'm like, if I was 36, I mean, give me that age back. That'd be amazing!
SUMIT DHAWAN (05:11):
Yeah. I mean, at the end of the day, I think experience is going to count more than anything else during playoffs. It's a playoff's based sport, so we'll win the playoffs as long as we're healthy.
SETH BORO (05:21):
I like it. You had a very famous artist at your user event, Jelly Roll.
SUMIT DHAWAN (05:28):
Yeah.
SETH BORO (05:29):
I was excited that I got to tell Andrew who it was because he actually had never heard of Jelly Roll, so that made me feel good given Andrew's about a decade..
SUMIT DHAWAN (05:35):
He was there with a cowboy hat.
SETH BORO (05:36):
Yeah, I heard. Was that your choice?
SUMIT DHAWAN (05:40):
The cowboy hat?
SETH BORO (05:40):
Are you a Jelly Roll fan? No. Well. Were you final say on that or like who else was in contention?
SUMIT DHAWAN (05:47):
Actually, I wasn't. It was a matter of chance and it worked out really, really well. We had a conference. We had that venue actually booked for a private event. And then the venue called and said, "Hey, listen, we have to take the venue back because of this one time special thing with this artist coming in. " And we're like, "Well, if you're going to take it back, we need something in return." So we kind of got these special seats and got to watch him and everyone loved it. So it kind of ended up becoming a win-win.
SETH BORO (06:22):
That's turning a negative into a positive. Did you get to hang out with Jelly Roll?
SUMIT DHAWAN (06:26):
We did. We said a brief hello.
SETH BORO (06:28):
Yeah, he's got an amazing story.That's super cool. Okay. I think everybody on social media, this is what I hear from my kids is sharing their morning routine. What's your morning routine?
SUMIT DHAWAN (06:39):
I do work out. I do need it, even if it's very brief. Sometimes it's on 20 to 30 minutes weights and with some high intensity and that gets me going.
SETH BORO (06:50):
Yeah. I know. I think we're in the longevity years of our life, but I can't figure out which of the longevity routines to focus on because now there's too many of them. Do you have anything, any like ... Is that it? Is it weights?
SUMIT DHAWAN (07:03):
It's weights. I think I just get bored running. It feels like I need something more active and high intensity and weights just sets my mind off. Okay.
SETH BORO (07:11):
What's your vacation bucket list? You're busy, so you don't have a lot of time for vacation, but what's your next three spots? And also if you were to tell someone, if I was to say, "Hey, where should I go next that you've been?" Where would that be?
SUMIT DHAWAN (07:25):
Okay. So where is my vacation bucket list? To be candid, I don't have a vacation bucket list. We've been trying to go to Thailand for a while. I want to go to Bhutan and that area. I don't know if I can go there for too long, maybe two, three days. I can't go there for a week long of just cut off from-
SETH BORO (07:44):
Are you mountains or beach when you go on vacation?
SUMIT DHAWAN (07:48):
I think I am for vacation, vacation beach, like just cut off, do nothing, play a little bit of golf, stay on the beach, but I do like skiing. So that's a workout thing for me.
SETH BORO (08:00):
That's why you live in California. Yeah. Well, that's amazing. Sumit, what do you think the most underrated skill is as a CEO?
SUMIT DHAWAN (08:09):
I think the most underrated skill as a CEO is to build belief in the team. I really think it sort of tests multiple things together because the belief is not built by just saying that you must believe you are just sort of advocating and preaching. It has an aspect of storytelling, which sort of people really get excited about. And it has a period of time, there's a trust factor that people sort of see where you are really making progress against that story. And then once that belief kicks in, the best work from people comes out. And I really believe in that. And to me, there is that sort of zone that people get into and then you become unbeatable in business as long as, of course, there's no sort of completely outside force that comes in and disrupts you. And to me, that's a very underrated skill.
(09:07):
And I don't know if it's very few people I've seen, and I'm not putting myself in that list who are great at it, and I just aspire to be good at it every day.
SETH BORO (09:17):
That's amazing. Well, from my perspective, I think you're doing a great job in getting there and it's a joy to work with you. Thank you for the partnership.
SUMIT DHAWAN (09:25):
Same. Thank you.
ORLANDO BRAVO (09:29):
Listen to Thoma Bravo's Beyond the Deal, Season 4 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.