“We are excited and honored to have Mike as an advisor,” said Barmak Meftah, President and CEO of AlienVault. “Our mission is to simplify the way security professionals detect and mitigate threats by unifying security technology and crowd-sourced threat intelligence into an easy-to-use, complete and affordable solution for companies of all sizes, especially the underserved midmarket. Mike’s experience in accelerating growth by leveraging the consumerisation of enterprise-class software will be invaluable as we continue to gain brand recognition and momentum in the market.”
Bennett is a 30-year veteran in the network and systems management industry with expertise in accelerating and scaling growth in early-stage and public technology businesses, and building organizations that distinguish themselves in tough, competitive environments. An eight-time CEO, Bennett most recently served as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of SolarWinds (SWI), a developer and marketer of IT management software. As CEO, he took SolarWinds public in 2009, and the company quickly achieved over a $2 billion market cap under his leadership. SolarWinds continues to be one of the most successful IPOs since 2009 based upon the “SolarWinds Model,” which was pioneered under his leadership, and has been widely recognized as an early example of the rapid consumerisation of IT buying behaviors across the software industry.
Prior to joining SolarWinds in September 2006, Bennett served as President and CEO of Permeo Technologies Inc., a leading provider of on-demand information security solutions, from March 2004 until its acquisition by Blue Coat Systems in April 2006. He previously served as CEO of Mission Critical Software where he led the company through its IPO in 1999 and subsequent merger with NetIQ Corporation. Bennett also co-founded AlterPoint in 2001, a leading provider of intelligent network change and configuration management solutions, and most recently served as Executive Chairman of the Board for Idera, a leading provider of application and server management solutions. He has been honored twice with the Central Texas Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, once in 2000 and again in 2010.
“What excites me about AlienVault is the tremendous market opportunity and the company’s laser focus on delivering solutions that meet their customers’ needs,” said Bennett. “As an expansion-stage company, AlienVault has already garnered a tremendous following, delivered award-winning products and cultivated a large community around threat intelligence and unified security. I am very excited to advise and assist AlienVault as they strive to build on their early success and dramatically scale their worldwide presence.”