Building a Team to Secure the Enterprise of Things

by Greg Clark on October 7, 2020

I’ve followed Forescout for many years during my prior tenure as CEO of Blue Coat and thereafter Symantec. When the opportunity arose for Crosspoint Capital to invest in the company alongside Advent International, the decision was clear.

Forescout has been on an incredible trajectory, pioneering agentless device visibility and control across heterogeneous networks and advancing toward a real-time, cloud-based active defense platform to secure the Enterprise of Things. I couldn’t be more excited about accelerating that mission.

Over the last five years, Mike DeCesare and the team have done an incredible job growing the company to over $300 million in revenue with a $1.7 billion exit this August. That’s a growth story only a few leaders can tell. Forescout is on the cusp of its next horizon: tackling the rapidly growing risks that stem from the Enterprise of Things era that we all find ourselves living in. That is why I am thrilled to increase engagement as CEO and co-chair of the board of directors. I will take on this new role in strong partnership with Mike, who will remain actively engaged as co-chair, as well as with our investment partners and the excellent leadership team at Forescout.

Forescout’s mission and technology have never been more important. The rate at which cyberattacks are expanding, both in frequency and impact, is astronomical. In just the last week, we saw cybercriminals hold a network of hospitals hostage with a devastating ransomware attack, preventing them from caring for patients until the attackers received their money. There are no rules for cybercriminals and every organization in every industry deserves the strongest protections available.

When you look at today’s modern enterprise, one of the biggest risk surfaces derives from the Enterprise of Things, which is comprised of everything from laptops and mobile phones to the connected sensors in an operational technology (OT) environment to the connected virtual entities the organization depends on. Risk from the Enterprise of Things also represents one of the largest areas without appropriate compensating controls, a gap that Forescout is uniquely positioned to fill with its active defense platform.

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Over the course of my nearly 30 years in technology and cybersecurity, I have founded startups and led some of the most significant companies in the industry, including Blue Coat and Symantec. I know how to manage and advise teams that can execute strategic acquisitions, how to buy adjacencies to expand into new markets, how to create an operational culture that drives financial success, and perhaps most importantly, how to build products that meet the needs of our the customers that rely on those products to defend the enterprise. I plan to bring all this experience to bear at Forescout.

While Forescout initially caught my eye for its strong technology, its team is at the heart of its success. I am thrilled to dig in and work with Forescout’s leaders who are equally as committed to our journey and transformation. We have a fantastic leadership team in place, including Pedro Abreu, Neville Letzerich, Jason Pishotti, Ellen Sundra, Rob McNutt, Matt Hartley, Oded Comay, Yossi Ben Yair, Jon Connet, Brendan O’Connell and many others. This group is building the next generation of cloud-based cybersecurity solutions and driving the best customer experience and support in the industry. And we are now recruiting some of the industry’s top talent to complement this bench.

As I put out my calls to my network and beyond, I looked for leaders that could not only build a strong sales engine and healthy business but who also believed deeply in the mission to mitigate risk from the Enterprise of Things. We also needed leaders that believed strongly in company culture, which is a strong component of the value proposition Forescout provides to its employees, which translates into a fantastic and loyal customer base.

I am excited to announce that Steve Tchejeyan and Keith Weatherford will be joining the Forescout executive team. I have worked with each of these individuals and know their effectiveness personally, as well as their deep commitment to customers and partners. I know they can help us put the solutions we build in the hands of the enterprises who need them and to buy down their cybersecurity risk.

Under Steve’s leadership as Chief Revenue Officer, Forescout will build in its existing customer base, spreading our value proposition to new organizations that recognize the risk at hand and enhancing it for those we already work with. He will also help drive adjacencies of relevance, giving even more value for our partners to sell and for our customers to consume. Keith will ensure that the same value is brought to our partners, leveraging his deep experience and track record with the channel to deliver predictability and profitability, as well as the adjacent opportunities that help us grow our business together.

Like me, Steve and Keith recognize the incredible potential for Forescout. They are excited by the opportunity to deliver proven technology to the top global 2000 enterprises, as well as join a team that excels at all levels of the organization and exhibits a strong culture and values that are centered around our customers. Lastly, they recognized the mission to address one of the biggest risks facing organizations today as the landscape of cybersecurity gets more complex.

Now, with the support and backing of Crosspoint Capital and Advent International, we are more empowered than ever to deliver on this mission. We are the first line of defense for our customers, and we’re equipping our sales machine with the best of the best to deliver on our promise to keep organizations secure. The best days are in front of us.

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