The CRA Story

As CyberRisk Alliance (CRA) approaches its five-year anniversary, I share immense pride with my colleagues for the company we have built, and its importance to and influence on the cybersecurity community. It’s been an incredibly gratifying experience and I’m deeply grateful to the CRA team, the cybersecurity community, and our clients for placing their trust in CRA’s products and team to support cyber leaders and fortify the security of their companies. 

It’s both interesting and fun to reflect on CRA’s founding vision, the early days, the realization it was working, and my increasing optimism about our future.

The Vision

You’ve heard the proverb, “necessity is the mother of invention.” It implies the driving force for most inventions is a need, and CyberRisk Alliance filled a need in the cybersecurity community. Our business strategy and portfolio of services is unique to any other company in the cyber-ecosystem. Five years ago, we approached the cyber market as a disruptor – for the benefit of the community – and that’s just what we’ve done.

We announced the formation of the business in November 2018 as a partnership between Growth Catalyst Partners and me. As a testament to the strategy, the founding vision remains in place and on point today. We’re committed to serving the high-growth, rapidly evolving cybersecurity industry by building cyber leaders and providing the community with a diversified and well-integrated portfolio that informs and educates the market with high-quality content; by curating community discussion because we know there is strength in unity and great value in sharing experiences; and by powering a better-connected cybersecurity ecosystem through the application of powerful, data-driven business intelligence.

“CyberRisk Alliance is a community-centered, data-driven company with a mission to build community, educate, inform, and power a better-connected cybersecurity ecosystem.”

The successful execution of the strategy relied on assembling a unique combination of capabilities solely focused on the cyber community – building a company of diversity and scale – through organic development and acquisition. As each business was integrated, it would benefit from the intellectual leverage of the content and subject matter expertise of other assets under the CRA umbrella. In addition, we would leverage progressively expanding multichannel platforms, while cross-pollinating resources to enhance our service to the community. 

At the time of the launch, I didn’t realize the benefit and importance that the diversity of our portfolio would play in our success. It has had a significantly favorable impact on our positioning and performance during the unforeseen challenges of the pandemic and the more recent tech downturn. The respect for our brands,the value of our services,and the quality of our people has supported us through every challenge. CRA has consistently maintained support of the community, demonstrated resilience, and continued to grow and thrive throughout.

Key to our success has been a continuous commitment to invest in our businesses to improve and enhance our product offering. In just five years, CRA has taken a position as a market-leading company with great recognition and influence. 

The Early Days and Rapid Validation

In the first 18-months, our strategy resonated with many prospective partners, and it compelled several cybersecurity information, event and data businesses to join the Alliance for the betterment of the community. 

InfoSec World was our first acquisition. Soon thereafter we consummated a rapid series of acquisitions and investments, including SC Media, Cybersecurity Collaboration Forums, Cybersecurity Collaborative, Security Weekly, and the launch of CRA’s Business Intelligence Unit. Over the past two years, we acquired and integrated additional capabilities and premier brands including Identiverse, Know Identity, After Nines, Cyber Security Summit, and most recently, LaunchTech Communications. In total, we have completed a dozen transactions, and our investments will continue. 

With a quick validation of the strategy, we achieved early and progressive success as we scaled our platform. As a mission-driven organization, our positive culture relies on operational excellence and integrity, as well as a collaborative and innovative spirit to succeed.

The resulting portfolio provides CRA with distinctive recognition as the leading community-centered, data-driven company business with an unparalleled range of services to the cyber community including high-valued content, educational digital and live regional and national events with rich content and networking opportunities, peer engagement in a confidential and trusted setting, and advanced data-driven marketing solutions that connect interested professionals with cybersecurity solution providers.

The Future

Today, CyberRisk Alliance is a powerful and influential market-leading company of scale, comprised of a truly unique portfolio of services and capabilities. Over the first five years, we’ve demonstrated agility by responding to the changing demands of the market. We are constantly seeking to enhance our products, and we will maintain our ambitious agenda to enhance and expand our platform, while also seeking out new partners in service to the community.

We have just launched an exciting rebranding of CRA to add greater cohesion to our portfolio of brands, including a newly designed and enhanced website that exemplifies the full scale of our products and services.

Today, we celebrate the journey and our collective success! CyberRisk Alliance stands committed to its founding vision and strategy in service to the cyber community. Our future is bright and we’re only just getting started. 

It is with immense pleasure and thanks to our marketing clients, the cybersecurity community at large, my colleagues, and our many business partners that I share my profound gratitude for your collective partnerships, guidance, and continued commitment.