Today, we are delighted to share exciting news from Safetica, a global player in the data loss prevention and insider risk management market. The company has recently welcomed industry veteran Mirek Kren as its newly appointed CEO, coinciding with the inauguration of its offices in San Jose. Guided by a commitment to provide outstanding data protection with simplicity at its core, Safetica has managed to safeguard close to a million devices across 120 countries.
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Congratulations on your appointment as the new CEO of Safetica! Can you share more about your vision for Safetica and how you plan to lead the company into 2024?
Mirek Kren: This will be an exciting year for us, and I am delighted to join Safetica at this critical juncture as we move our strategic expansion into North America. Over the next three years, we are planning a rapid expansion of our sales and marketing in the continent, starting with our new office in San Jose. Safetica already has a footprint in the US and Canada, with a portfolio of interesting partners and customers, but it’s about scaling that presence – being able to connect better with our stakeholders, utilize the rising trends in compliance across regulated industries and the implosion of hybrid work to help our customers keep their data and people safe. It’s also about moving our award-winning product which we have perfected in the last 15 years into the cloud, providing cloud first companies with the right tools to keep their data and people safe in whatever environment they choose.
With your extensive experience in Silicon Valley, what strategies do you plan to implement to drive Safetica’s rapid expansion in North America, starting with the new office in San Jose? Are there specific goals or milestones you aim to achieve in the next three years?
Mirek Kren: Silicon Valley is a state of mind. It stands as an unparalleled hub for innovation, attracting some of the brightest minds and innovative companies globally. The concentration of world-class colleges, venture capitalists, and established tech giants creates a unique melting pot of ideas and resources. The collaborative spirit within the Bay Area encourages the cross-pollination of expertise, leading to rapid advancements in diverse fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and others. The culture of risk-taking and tolerance for failure empowers entrepreneurs to explore groundbreaking concepts and push the boundaries of what is possible. It is this transformative experience and spirit that I want to infuse at Safetica. Over the next three years, our aim is to infuse key AI technologies into Safetica, to protect 500K devices in North America, and to be the go-to name for both data loss prevention and insider risk management.
Can you reflect on a significant experience from your past that has shaped your approach to leading Safetica? Is there a particular role model or mentor who has been a source of inspiration for you?
Mirek Kren: Some of my previous roles, particularly at Kerio Technologies, closely resemble Safetica’s current position. This includes a hybrid business model, transitioning from on-premises to the Cloud, and dealing with security products. One key lesson I gained from these experiences is that, in many cases, moving fast is invaluable; as it is more important to be the first mover than to be right. Embracing failure is valuable if you extract lessons from it and adapt your execution plan accordingly. In essence, the mantra is to ‘fail fast.’
I find inspiration during challenging times from Ben Horowitz and his book ‘The Hard Thing About Hard Things.’ This resonates with me as a guiding principle. Additionally, my former CEO, Scott Schreiman, played a pivotal role in shaping my approach to the market and business strategies. Learning from both successes and setbacks will be integral to my leadership style at Safetica, grounded in a philosophy that prioritizes adaptability and continuous improvement.
Safetica has a remarkable track-record of innovation in the DLP industry. How do you foresee the company addressing the emerging challenges and threats? What threats do you consider the most urgent now?
Mirek Kren: In the current cybersecurity landscape, we are witnessing a convergence of several trends. On one hand, a substantial amount of data that was once stored on endpoints and servers has transitioned to the cloud. Furthermore, the emergence of new data regulations in North America, such as the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, and the recently enacted Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act for financial institutions, coupled with the growing adoption of hybrid work and the prevalence of AI, including generative AI, underscores the heightened importance of robust data protection and governance.
This is where Safetica comes into play. With 15 years of experience assisting companies in discovering and classifying sensitive data, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from consumers, Intellectual Property, and trade secrets like sensitive R&D data, our focus is on leveraging this wealth of experience and technology across various platforms and environments to prevent data exfiltration and leaks. Additionally, we aim to integrate and scale AI capabilities efficiently to enhance data and employee protection.
In my view, the most critical threats facing companies stem from the rapid convergence of big data, hybrid work models, the cloud, AI, and data regulations. Without tools like Safetica, organizations may find it challenging to uphold their data security. Data leaks and exfiltration pose significant risks to both the bottom and top lines of companies, as historical examples have demonstrated how such incidents can lead to existential crises.
In light of your role as the new CEO, are there any innovative initiatives or developments on the horizon for Safetica that you would like to share with the audience? Are there any upcoming milestones or exciting news we should stay tuned for?
Mirek Kren: As I said earlier, the next two years will be full of exciting news for us. We are currently working to release our unified product, Safetica 11, that will combine both complex Data Loss Prevention, Insider Risk Management, and User Analytics and Behavior all in the same suite; empowering companies to protect both data and people across different devices and environments with one solution. We are also of course working to leverage some Artificial Intelligence into both our classifications engines and other parts of the product. While we have released some, it’s also about applying more DLP functionalities for generative AI tools. Stay tuned for more.
Jerome Knyszewski, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Mirek Kren for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Mirek Kren or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
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