NightDragon, a specialized cybersecurity, security, safety, and privacy investment and consulting company has partnered with leading diversity and talent development organizations, including the Athena Alliance, Cyber Future Foundation (CFF) and Cybersecurity Gatebreakers Foundation (CGF) to expand talent and develop diversity and inclusion initiatives across its portfolio companies and the industry.
NightDragon will partner with the Athena Alliance, CFF, CGF, and other organizations to expand diversity and inclusion activities in its portfolio companies, such as talent acquisition, executive education, career training, and mentorship. It will continue to cooperate with these organizations on industry regulation to boost diversity and inclusion initiatives more widely.
Dave DeWalt, Founder and Managing Director, NightDragon said, “Improving diversity and inclusion is one of the most critical issues facing our industry today. By working together with organizations like the Athena Alliance, the Cyber Future Foundation and the Cybersecurity Gatebreakers Foundation, we hope to help build more diverse companies, leading to stronger cultures, increased company growth and better technology development to combat today’s biggest threats.”
Coco Brown, CEO and Founder, the Athena Alliance said, “Our industry has made progress around improvement of diversity and inclusion, but there is still much more work to be done. We look forward to working closely with NightDragon and its portfolio companies to further these efforts across the industry, as well as help them tap into the full potential that a diverse and vibrant company culture can provide.”
Val Mukherjee, Chairman and Founder of Cyber Future Foundation said “At CFF, we recognize that a global and comprehensive approach is needed to solve the cybersecurity workforce challenges and remove barriers to career entry, while helping leaders find new approaches to staff and up-skill their teams. We are proud to work with venture capital firms like NightDragon, as well as commercial, public and private sector, other nonprofits and academic organizations to build stronger company cultures and businesses with the ultimate goal of reducing cybercrime threats.”
“Closing the cybersecurity skills gap requires our industry to break down the traditional gates in cybersecurity – the years of experience, the computer science degrees, and the litany of security certifications that we for years have thought necessary to begin a career in cybersecurity. We need to teach people how to discover the untapped talent that is everywhere around us; people just need a chance. The Cybersecurity Gatebreakers Foundation looks forward to working closely with NightDragon and its portfolio companies to close the cybersecurity talent gap while helping CISOs and hiring managers find, train and retain great cybersecurity talent,” said Naomi Buckwalter, Founder and Executive Director of Cybersecurity Gatebreakers Foundation.
These partnerships are the newest additions to the NightDragon Network’s ND Talent program, which aims to provide value and advantages to portfolio firms while also addressing high-priority areas including talent hiring, diversity, and retention. These advantages will be available only to portfolio businesses, and NightDragon intends to expand its resources as needed.