FOSTER CITY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Exabeam, the security analytics and automation company, today announced its support of FirstBoard.io, a curated network of highly qualified and diverse technology leaders seeking corporate director roles.
“Having industry-leading companies like Exabeam support the goal of increasing diversity in the boardroom is critical to really pulling our mission forward,” said Rita Scroggin, founder of FirstBoard.io. “We are grateful to have an exceptional veteran executive like Exabeam CMO Sherry Lowe as a founding member. Sherry is committed to FirstBoard.io’s mission to find opportunities for women leaders ready to offer their extraordinary skills and experiences to tech industry boards.”
In partnership with several leading companies, FirstBoard.io focuses on removing persistent obstacles that have prevented women from being chosen for executive boards and the C-suite, and by doing so, fosters greater success for companies across the tech industry.
The numbers speak for themselves. Higher corporate financial performance has continually been attributed to greater diversity in both management and board-level seats. Credit Suisse Research Institute found that shares of companies with more than 20% female management outperformed organizations with less than 15% female management by 5%. In addition, a study published in the Harvard Business Review noted that after companies appointed women to the C-suite, openness to change increased by 10%.
Yet, until a mandatory diversity requirement is enforced, the default choice to fill the boardroom or the C-suite remains white men. Beyond exclusion, contributing to the challenges for women leaders to be chosen for board seats is, in general, a lack of visibility of the women who are ready for the roles.
“As women, we are responsible for helping other women rise through the corporate ranks,” said Lowe. “Exabeam has established programs explicitly for recognizing women leaders, and that is why our sponsorship of FirstBoard.io is a great fit. I believe in this mission, and we are committed to elevating women leaders and highlighting the value they can bring to the boardroom and the C-suite.”
While the tech industry has made some strides to improve diversity and inclusion practices, there is far more work to be done. Chief marketing officer (CMO) positions across industries are largely held by women, for instance. In fact, 14 women round out the top 25 of Forbes’ Most Influential CMOs list, yet CMOs are often missing from technology company boards.
Lowe continued, “The benefit of having female board members is obvious in that they bring different perspectives and skill sets required for real success. If you only hire one type of person, you will only get one type of view of the world. People of all backgrounds and perspectives are needed, along with representation of all functional areas across the business. Board meetings are more effective when the people in the room also understand what it takes to run an effective global marketing program, which is directly interconnected with how to strengthen the company’s external brand and culture for both moral and long-term recruitment purposes.”
Exabeam fosters a corporate culture that champions women, men, and diversity for all. This sponsorship is the latest addition to the Exabeam Cares program, dedicated to improving local and global communities through investing in give-back programs, primarily focused around education and diversity. The overarching program also partners with the ExaGals program, which focuses on supporting and empowering the women of Exabeam, as well as women in the technology community at large, with career development, education and personal growth opportunities.
About FirstBoard.io
FirstBoard.io is a curated collective of diverse technology leaders who have been in key operating roles at startups and private and public technology companies. FirstBoard.io is an invite-only community of highly qualified women who have been selected based on criteria including technical depth, operational leadership and go to market experience, amongst other criteria. FirstBoard.io does not charge its members a fee. For more information on members of the FirstBoard.io mission, please visit https://www.firstboard.io.
About Exabeam
Exabeam is a global cybersecurity leader that adds intelligence to every IT and security stack. We are reinventing the way security teams use analytics and automation to solve threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR), from common security threats to the most critical that are difficult to identify. The Exabeam Security Operations Platform is a comprehensive cloud-delivered solution that leverages machine learning and automation using a prescriptive, outcomes-based approach to TDIR. It is designed and built to help security teams detect external threats, compromised users and malicious adversaries, minimize false positives, and make security success the norm. For more information, visit www.exabeam.com.
Exabeam, the Exabeam logo, Exabeam Fusion, Threat Hunter, Smart Timelines and Security Operations Platform are service marks, trademarks or registered marks of Exabeam, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective owners. © 2021 Exabeam, Inc. All rights reserved.
