Darktrace bolsters expansion plans with double C-suite appointment

Darktrace has announced a brace of new appointments to its senior leadership team, with Samun Raju joining as chief financial officer (CFO) and Hein Hellemons arriving as chief revenue officer (CRO).

The seasoned industry executives add more than 40 years combined leadership experience across finance and go-to-market functions at enterprise software companies.

As CFO, Raju will head up the cyber security vendor’s financial strategy and execution, ensuring alignment of resources and investment to support long-term goals, while new CRO Hellemons will lead global sales and solutions engineering with a focus on strengthening customer engagement across industries.

In an announcement, Darktrace said the pair’s arrival marks the next stage of its plans to scale its global operations and deliver sustainable growth.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Suman and Hein to the executive team,” said Dartrace CEO, Jill Popelka. “Hein leads with a deep focus on customer excellence, and Suman brings exceptional global finance experience from high-growth software businesses. Their expertise will be critical as we continue to scale and transform.”

Raju brings extensive experience in scaling public and private B2B enterprise SaaS companies and steering global finance organizations through periods of transformation.

Most recently, he served as CFO at Ivalua, where he helped to prepare the company for public markets, led strategic transactions, and is credited with driving growth in recurring revenue and profitability. He has also previously held the same title at Crownpeak Technologies and SAP Ariba.

Commenting on his appointment, Raju said he joins Darktrace at “a time of real momentum and transformation” as AI continues to redefine the industry landscape.

“We have tremendous opportunity ahead, and I look forward to helping us build the strong foundations that will support our next stage of sustainable growth in the U.S. and across our global markets,” he added.

A fellow industry veteran, Hellemons brings deep experience in leading go-to-market teams at cybersecurity and technology businesses.

Prior to joining Darktrace, he served as CRO at KnowBe4, where he oversaw global sales, marketing, customer success, and channel operations as the vendor scaled.

He also previously held senior leadership roles at VMware, AWS, and Microsoft.

Hellemons said he was attracted to his new role by Darktrace’s AI technology, which works to detect new threats in real-time and help protect organizations’ entire digital ecosystems.

“As cyber threats grow, this capability has never been more critical for organizations as they seek to protect themselves and safely drive technology adoption across their enterprise,” he explained.

“I’m excited to work with our teams to deepen our partnership with our existing customers and partners, and to expand our reach to more prospective customers as Darktrace continues on its scaling journey.”

Raju succeeds Cathy Graham, who left the role of CFO back in September, while Hellemons succeeds Denise Walter who stepped down as CRO following Darktrace’s sale to private equity firm Thoma Bravo last year.

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