This week Cobalt welcomed Lisa Matherly, as Chief Marketing Officer. With over two decades of experience in B2B marketing and cybersecurity, Lisa boasts expertise across customer segments, indirect/direct channels, product marketing, growth marketing and operations. As CMO, Lisa leads a global team responsible for driving brand awareness and go-to-market growth through analyst relations, branding, communications, product marketing, demand generation and partner marketing.
In this interview, get to know her, her career trajectory, and why she is excited to join the Cobalt rocketship!
Welcome to Cobalt Lisa! Tell us, why did you feel Cobalt was the right company for you at this stage in your professional journey?
First and foremost, I love cybersecurity. Having grown up in a family of law enforcement and public service, it’s a natural instinct of mine to want to help people and businesses protect what matters most to them from cyber threats. I also saw [in Cobalt] a strong product fit with potential for hyper growth by evolving the portfolio and continuing expanding to the enterprise.
I was also struck by the Cobalt values. When I read “we’re cobalt… where everyone’s opinion matters” it aligned with one of my core values, recognition. I recognize everyone’s value as a human being and I make sure everyone on my team has a voice and an opportunity to be heard. It also ties back to what motivates me at work - being a leader who enables both individuals and teams to find their greatest potential by seeing them and listening to them.
What learnings are you bringing from your previous experience to this role?
I have been working in the cybersecurity industry for over 20 years. I will draw on my experiences to better understand our customers, what their challenges and pain points are, and become a trusted brand within their cybersecurity program.
How will customers and partners feel the impact of the work you're doing?
I believe in a customer-first culture. Customers should always be at the forefront of what we do and Cobalt has a proven track record of doing that. In fact, Cobalt was just awarded four new badges in the new G2 Spring 2023 Grid, and has been named a Leader in PtaaS for the SIXTH consecutive quarter. It's truly a testament to the experience Cobalt's customers and partners have had with us.
What excites you the most about joining the Cobalt team? The security space generally?
During my interview I noticed and sensed a strong, authentic leadership team who wants to win. I’m excited to be a part of that team because that is my motto. The Cobalt values of humble learning, lead with grit, quality at speed, and One Cobalt are felt across the entire company. You don’t just get that everywhere and I knew that was something special.
As far as the security space we’re in, I’m excited about the potential. I can see how we are thinking about information security, and our integrations into DevSecOps workflows beyond pentesting. Regular, comprehensive testing is essential but continuous, agile testing is where customers are headed - and they need to do this without compromising their own innovation, revenue growth or security compliance. That is incredibly exciting for a security marketer like myself.
What are your top priorities for the first six months in your new role at Cobalt for both US & EMEA?
One of my top priorities is making the team feel confident in where we’re going as an organization. I want us to focus on creating a multi-segment portfolio strategy that will reach the right audiences with a new approach to solving their security needs. We have some exciting products to release that will specifically serve enterprise customers so it will be important for us to grow and strengthen our enterprise GTM. I want to meet and listen to our customers to ensure we continue to focus on their evolving needs and provide them with the best services possible. And I can’t wait to re-engage with the channel community. Our customers have trusted relationships with their channel partners to provide security services and solutions and Cobalt is well positioned to enable more profitable security services for partners.
Going off of the previous question, what top security trends are you excited to see Cobalt address in the next year or so? How will marketing support those efforts?
The first key trend I see is the continued adoption of cloud computing solutions and services which will drive the need for customers to evolve their approach to security, which needs to integrate continuous [or agile] pentesting throughout the lifecycle.
Second, cyber criminals are increasingly targeting small and mid-size businesses across all sectors. Security is a must-have, but for some, pentesting is not prioritized because it has been too cost prohibitive or they do not have the right talent. Our approach makes pentesting a reality with a cost efficient solution.
Third is the cybersecurity talent shortage. We have a unique opportunity to help address the growing talent shortage problem with our platform and our community of on-demand pentesters.
What do you enjoy the most about the marketing function?
I enjoy being the voice of the customer inside the company - from corporate strategy to product roadmap to sales and partner enablement, even customer success and support. Marketing is both an art and a science – merging the two is something I am very passionate about.
What are the top marketing trends you are expecting to see in 2023 and beyond?
Marketers will be looking for ways to leverage AI in a meaningful way to augment and even automate some laborious tasks and processes allowing budgets to be redirected and making the marketing organization more agile.
I mentioned the importance of our customer base. I think marketers will play a key leadership role in customer retention and loyalty - even extending to overall customer experience.
Content will continue to be king (or queen) - content from reputable influencers and peers that educates and empowers the buyer.
Brands who invest in marketing during these economic times have an incredible opportunity to grab share and come out ahead of their competitors.
Can you share a bit more about your life outside of work? What brings you the most joy outside of work?
I love hosting friends and family in our home. I was born and raised in San Jose where I currently live with my husband and our three kids. I love to go camping (okay, glamping but it still counts!) at the beach and finding new local eats. I enjoy creating scrapbooks full of memories and experiences that I can pass on to generations. I like to learn new things - my newest challenge is learning how to wakesurf.
