SAN FRANCISCO and TEL AVIV, Israel, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Andy Ellis, Operating Partner at YL Ventures, CEO at Duha and investor and advisor to several cybersecurity startups including Grip Security, Orca Security and Vulcan Cyber, has been inducted into the prestigious IDG CSO Hall of Fame. This recognition is bestowed upon the individuals whose work has advanced the CSO/CISO role, secured business and inspired others in the industry. Ellis will accept the award at the CSO50 Conference + Awards held on November 16-18, 2021.
Recently named Operating Partner at YL Ventures, a prominent seed-stage global venture capital firm investing in Israeli cybersecurity startups, Ellis is a well-known industry leader who pioneered the CSO role over his 20-year tenure at Akamai Technologies. Ellis played a key role in transforming the company into a major security player, increasing its security business to over $1B in annual revenue and building Akamai’s initial security portfolio.
At YL Ventures, Ellis is leveraging his extensive experience to guide Israeli cybersecurity entrepreneurs through ideation and market validation processes pre-investment, as well as support YL Ventures portfolio companies post-investment with product development, go-to-market strategies and customer engagements. Ellis’ unique expertise also provides tremendous value to YL Ventures’ Advisory Board of more than 100 global CISOs and cybersecurity experts from Fortune 100 and high-growth companies.
“I am excited to be in great company with my fellow inductees of security and technology leaders in the CSO Hall of Fame,” said Andy Ellis. “It is an honor and a privilege to represent the best of senior leaders and I’m humbled to be chosen for this honor among so many in this field. I have been fortunate to have enjoyed a rewarding career and I look forward to advising and mentoring young founders and supporting them through leadership challenges and understanding customers’ needs.”
With decades of experience under his belt, Ellis has a wide array of both customer and vendor exposure and a deep understanding of the pain points CSOs have. As an advisor to YL Ventures’ portfolio companies, he has been pivotal in guiding them through different milestones of their development. Specifically, Andy supported Orca Security in their recent series C round of $210M.
“Andy’s understanding of customer security challenges, ability to match technology to business needs, and clear articulation of our value proposition have all been instrumental in helping us achieve unicorn status in under two years,” said Avi Shua, CEO and co-founder at Orca Security. “Andy’s real-world experience makes him an incredible asset to us and other Israeli founders, and he deserves this recognition for his outstanding career accomplishments and contribution to the cybersecurity ecosystem.”
Another member of the YL Ventures’ CISO Advisory Board, Renee Guttman, was also inducted into the CSO Hall of Fame. The CISO of Campbell Soup Company is an accomplished information security executive whose career spans 25 years managing risk for global corporations including GlaxoSmithKline, Time Warner and Coca-Cola.
The CSO Hall of Fame recognizes leaders who have made significant contributions to the advancement of information risk management and security. The CSO Hall of Fame inductees are selected by the editors of CSO and its advisors and executives. Because of the connected nature of today’s business environments, managing the operational risk of any single organization is of vital importance.
“As organizations face new and evolving threats and shifting risks amid changing business conditions, the value experienced security leaders bring to the business has never been greater,” said Amy Bennett, Executive Editor of CSO. “Our CSO Hall of Fame inductees for 2021 have built their careers by innovating, leading, and contributing within the security community across many organizations. We look forward to recognizing them at the upcoming CSO50 Conference + Awards and hearing their perspectives on IT security, risk, and business leadership.”
About CSO
CSO is the premier content and community resource for security decision-makers leading business risk management efforts within their organizations. For more than a decade, CSO’s award-winning website (CSOonline.com), executive conferences, strategic marketing services and research have equipped security decision-makers to mitigate both IT and corporate/physical risk for their organizations and provided opportunities for security vendors looking to reach this audience.
To assist CSOs in educating their organizations’ employees on corporate and personal security practices, CSO also produces the quarterly newsletter Security Smart. CSO is published by IDG Communications, Inc. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.
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About YL Ventures
YL Ventures funds and supports brilliant Israeli tech entrepreneurs from seed to lead. Based in Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv, YL Ventures manages over $300 million and specializes in cybersecurity. YL Ventures accelerates the evolution of portfolio companies via strategic advice and U.S.-based operational execution, leveraging a powerful network of Chief Information Security Officers and global industry leaders. The firm’s track record includes successful, high-profile portfolio company acquisitions by major corporations including Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, CA and Proofpoint.
Heading the fund is Silicon Valley-based Managing Partner Yoav Andrew Leitersdorf, a serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor for over 25 years. Yoav works alongside Partner John Brennan in the U.S., while Partner & Head of Israeli Office Ofer Schreiber leads the Tel Aviv office together with Chief Marketing Officer, Sharon Seemann. With a multidisciplinary team of 15 spread across two offices, YL Ventures has engrained itself in both the U.S. and Israeli cybersecurity ecosystems. For more information, visit ylventures.com.
Media Contacts:
Montner Tech PR
Deb Montner
dmontner@montner.com
YL Ventures
Sharon Seemann, CMO
sharon@ylventures.com
