Over the past 25 years of my career in information technology and security, I’ve had the pleasure of working with incredible people—fellow employees, clients and partners. When someone makes a positive impression on you, it’s always a good idea to keep them top of mind as you progress throughout your career. Personally, I’ve made a few mental notes at various stages in my journey to highlight rewarding interactions. Whenever I have an opportunity to work with such fine folks again, I’m willing to move mountains to make it happen. In fact, a lot of my hires happened this way. I bet a few folks who worked for me at one point or another are thinking right about now—“Hey, he’s talking about me!” You’d be right. And on the flip side, I want the people I’ve worked with to walk away from our experience thinking the exact same way—making a note in case they ever wanted to work with me again.
In early 2017, three people that match this description perfectly—Peter Clay, Tessema Getachew and Rick Jones—reached out to let me know about their growing company, Zeneth. Peter hired me at Deloitte back in 2006 and we helped grow their federal cybersecurity practice before he took the reigns as their federal CISO. Tessema, Rick and I connected while I was at Deloitte, while I was providing cyber and information assurances services to the Army. During my most recent role at the certification and training non-profit, (ISC)2, Zeneth stepped up and sponsored an event to benefit the Center for Cyber Safety and Education — the philanthropic arm of (ISC)2. During these discussions several months ago, it became clear that Zeneth was on the move in the right direction with a community-based culture to match: They had doubled in size in less than a year; they were beginning to focus on information security as a specialty; and they were winning federal contracts and bringing in exceptional cybersecurity talent. Peter was a recent hire, and had been busy building a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) solution based on open-source technology called ZenOpz aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses. But they needed someone to help build and implement strategies to cultivate additional growth. That’s where I come in.
Ultimately, it was a pretty easy decision. Working with good people I know and trust? Check. Working in a field (information security) that I love and am passionate about? Check. An opportunity to help customers protect their networks and data, inspire others to do the same, and make a positive impact? Check, check, check. I’ve been here around four months and now that I’ve had a chance to learn more about Zeneth, I’m even more excited. The blog you are reading now is part of a larger redesign and rebranding effort that I took on as soon as I got on board. I’m looking forward to writing more blog content in the near future to highlight some of the fascinating work we’re doing for our federal and commercial customers. I can’t wait to share some stories that will capture the creativity and passion of my fellow Zeneth employees and the innovative solutions we are developing. And stay tuned to our calendar of events, which will be updated periodically as we begin to build out our plan to engage and interact with you both at in-person events and via webinars.
We are building a culture here based on five key pillars—Service, Growth, Agility, Creativity and Community. So, now that I’m here, I have a chance once again to reflect on those positive interactions and look for good people who want to help contribute to this culture. You may be getting a note from me soon if you haven’t already. And if we don’t know each other, and you’re looking for a mutually rewarding career—not just a job—don’t hesitate to reach out and introduce yourself.
Thanks for reading!