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MSSP Cybersecurity Talent Grab: MKACyber Hires President, Executives

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MKACyber, which provides managed security operations center (SOC) and consulting services for enterprise and government organizations, has hired multiple executives after recently raising $4.1 million to fund growth.

MKACyber CEO Mischel Kwon, a US-CERT and RSA Security, continues to lead the company. But she's gaining an impressive list of lieutenants. Chief among them: Cindy Gagliano, who joins the MSSP as president.

Gagliano has two decades of security and consulting experience. She previously held senior roles with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Gagliano will oversee MKACyber's customer engagements and the teams responsible for delivering technical defensive security, security operations and information assurance services, the company said.

MKACyber: Additional Executive Hires

In addition to naming Gagliano as president, MKACyber this week made the following executive appointments:

  • Christen Gentile, Chief Marketing Officer: Gentile brings 10 years of corporate and agency marketing and communications experience from organizations such as Kaspersky Lab, Globalscape and Lois Paul & Partners. As MKACyber's CMO, Gentile will manage the company's marketing and communications efforts.
  • Ron Fleming, Director of Security Operations and Services: Fleming has over 20 years of IT operations and cybersecurity experience from companies that include General Dynamics, CSC and First Information Technology Services. In his new role, Fleming will manage the delivery of MKACyber's managed security operations solutions.
  • Nanzia Khan, Director of Operations: Khan most recently served as security assessment manager for the HHS. She is expected to help MKACyber assess and improve its customer cybersecurity operations programs, according to the company.
  • Katherine Baylor, Director of Finance: Baylor is joining MKACyber after serving as a tax manager in PwC's asset management practice. At MKACyber, Baylor will oversee the business' accounting, finance and tax functions, the company stated.

Together, the new executives will help global enterprises and government organizations improve their SOCs, detection capabilities and incident response processes, Kwon said in a prepared statement.

MKACyber's Board of Directors

As part of the funding announcement, MKACyber earlier this week also announced some major board member additions -- including:

  • Tom Ridge: Founder and chairman of Ridge Globe, a business development firm that helps organizations identify and minimize their security risks.
  • Tiffany Jones: Vice president of global strategic partnerships and alliance operations at cybersecurity and malware protection provider FireEye.
  • Deborah Lee James: Former secretary of the U.S. Air Force.

MKACyber was founded by Kwon in 2010. The MSSP provides SOC assessments, managed SOC services and chief information security officer (CISO) advisory and collaboration support capabilities.

Dan Kobialka

Dan Kobialka is senior contributing editor, MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E. He covers IT security, IT service provider business strategies and partner programs. Dan holds a M.A. in Print and Multimedia Journalism from Emerson College and a B.A. in English from Bridgewater State University. In his free time, Dan enjoys jogging, traveling, playing sports, touring breweries and watching football.