Williams brings a vision to elevate Industrial Defender as an integral enabler of OT cybersecurity transformation.

NEW YORK (Aug. 24, 2022) — Acertitude, the executive search firm unleashing human potential, has recruited Jay Williams as the new chief executive officer of Industrial Defender, a leader in OT cybersecurity technology. Williams is a highly regarded cybersecurity executive with 30 years’ experience in operational environments and industrial control systems and 25 years’ executive leadership experience.

The CEO search was successfully completed by Acertitude’s Technology team and co-led by Rick DeRose, co-founder, managing partner, and leader of the Technology practice, and Tim Cook, partner and leader of the firm’s Cyber practice.

“Jay’s outstanding track-record of managing P&L, setting winning growth strategies, and working strategically with OT cybersecurity professionals in a variety of industries is a great fit for Industrial Defender’s vision for the future,” said DeRose. “We look forward to seeing Jay’s impact on the business and continuing our strong partnership with the board and the rest of the Industrial Defender team.”

As CEO, Williams will leverage his industry expertise and passion for team building to lead Industrial Defender through its next phase of growth, opening and expanding go-to-market channels, scaling the sales and innovation functions, and strengthening relationships with key partners and customers around the world. Williams brings a vision to elevate Industrial Defender as an integral enabler of OT cybersecurity transformation.

“Jay is a respected leader in the space, whose deep understanding of operational business drivers, relentless customer focus and strategic experience driving global growth will be invaluable assets to Industrial Defender,” said Joseph Roark, Operating Partner at Teleo Capital and Chairman of Industrial Defender. “We’re excited to have Jay as part of the executive team and look forward to working with him to further scale the business and solidify Industrial Defender’s position as the leader in OT cybersecurity.”

Williams’ impressive background includes roles creating and leading OT cybersecurity divisions at Ernst & Young, Veracity Networks, Parsons Corporation, and Siemens. He is also an associate of the ICS Village and member of the Cybersecurity Advisory Council for the Syracuse City School District, teaching the next generation of students the core concepts to understand, assess and protect information security systems.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead and nurture the amazing talent and technology at Industrial Defender. With almost two decades of successfully implementing OT cybersecurity solutions at scale, we will continue to invest in complete, cost competitive technology to meet the needs of the future,” said Williams. “We have some very exciting new solutions being launched in the coming months that will empower security teams with the programmatic technology necessary to manage their entire OT cyber transformation from beginning to end. Every organization deserves to be secure no matter their size or budget, and Industrial Defender is committed to providing companies of all sizes with a competitive solution to protect their critical infrastructure.”

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