Darktrace CEO Swap: Gustafsson Steps Down; Popelka Steps Up – Source: www.databreachtoday.com

Network Detection & Response
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Security Operations

COO Jill Popelka Promoted to Chief Executive as Thoma Bravo Acquisition Nears Close

Michael Novinson (MichaelNovinson) •
September 9, 2024    

Darktrace has promoted a longtime leader with roots in Snap, SAP and Accenture to chief executive just weeks before Thoma Bravo plans to take the cybersecurity AI vendor private.

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The Cambridge, England-based company tapped Chief Operating Officer Jill Popelka as its next CEO and tasked her with leading Darktrace through its acquisition by Thoma Bravo, which is expected to close around Sept. 28. Popelka replaced Poppy Gustafsson, who served as CFO when Darktrace was founded in July 2013, moved into the co-CEO role in October 2016 and became the firm’s sole CEO in May 2020 (see: Thoma Bravo to Buy Cybersecurity AI Firm Darktrace for $5.3B).

“Darktrace has been a huge part of my life and my identity for over a decade and I am immensely proud of everything we have achieved,” Gustafsson said. “This challenge has required tremendous personal and professional commitment. With the acquisition of Darktrace by Thoma Bravo nearing its completion and with us having identified an excellent successor in Jill, now is the right time to hand over the reins.”

The Glass Ceiling Keeps on Shattering at Darktrace

This transition gives Darktrace the highly unusual distinction of having three consecutive female CEOs at a time when most cybersecurity vendors haven’t had a first one. Nicole Eagan stepped into the CEO role at Darktrace in September 2014, split responsibilities with Gustafsson in October 2016 and moved into the chief strategy and AI officer position in May 2020, leaving Gustafsson as the company’s sole CEO (see: Darktrace’s Nicole Eagan on How AI Predicts, Prevents Hacks).

The CEO change comes three and a half months after Thoma Bravo agreed to buy Darktrace for $5.32 billion to accelerate organic growth, allow the company to pursue acquisitions, and leverage the private equity firm’s operational best practices. The proposed acquisition came after Thoma Bravo halted efforts to buy Darktrace in September 2022 after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on terms (see: Thoma Bravo, Darktrace Ax Deal Over Disagreement on Terms).

“Jill is the perfect leader to build on Poppy’s tremendous legacy at Darktrace as it embarks on this next phase of its life, given her immense experience of scaling and maturing fast-growing businesses,” Thoma Bravo Partner Andrew Almeida said in a statement. “She cares deeply about people, about serving customers and about creating a company with a sense of mission and purpose at its core.”

Popelka joined Darktrace’s board in January and stepped down in May when she became chief operating officer. Before taking on the day-to-day management role at Darktrace, Popelka spent two years as Snap’s head of enterprise services. Before that, she spent two and a half years responsible for strategy, customer success and the overall health of SAP SuccessFactors as the business unit’s president and COO.

“The potential of Darktrace is enormous. Our technology has never been more critical to organizations around the world and our AI-native capabilities position us at the forefront of the ever-changing cyber security market,” Popelka said in a statement. “We have an outstanding platform offering, a broad base of customers across the globe, and some of the most talented people working in technology.”

How Darktrace Stacks Up Against the Competition

Darktrace has enjoyed massive growth in recent years. Sales in the fiscal year ended June 30 jumped 26.4% on a year-over-year basis to $689.5 million thanks to a stabilized churn environment and more improvements in upsell activity. The company added 936 new customers during its most recent fiscal year – bringing Darktrace’s customer count to 9,735 – and it expects that to fuel sales in the coming year.

“Poppy is a remarkable leader who has grown and nurtured one of the U.K.’s proudest technology success stories,” Darktrace Chairman Gordon Hurst said in a statement. “Under Poppy’s stewardship, the business has transformed from a promising collaboration of AI and intelligence experts to a high-growth global leader in cybersecurity.”

But the company’s technology has received mixed reviews from analysts. Forrester rated Darktrace’s network analysis and visibility capabilities 11th out of 13 vendors evaluated. Forrester praised Darktrace for simplifying the deployment process with point-and-click capability but said the firm’s user interface values flashiness over functionality and has confusing visualizations and limited visibility into network traffic.

Thoma Bravo has capitalized on market turmoil to buy publicly traded security vendors at a discount, scooping up identity governance firm SailPoint for $6.9 billion in August 2022 along with identity and access management firms Ping Identity for $2.8 billion in October 2022 and ForgeRock for $2.3 billion in August 2023. The private equity firm subsequently combined Ping and ForgeRock under the Ping brand.

“Leaving is not an easy decision, but I am confident in doing so because I know I am leaving the business in the most capable hands,” Gustafsson said on LinkedIn. “This has made it so much easier for me to hand over the reins. I know that Jill will preserve the very best of what makes Darktrace unique while bringing the strategic and operational discipline necessary for our next phase of growth.”