Darktrace has appointed two new leaders to its Executive Committee: Suman Raju as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Hein Hellemons as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). In her new role, Raju will oversee the company’s financial strategy and execution, aligning resources and investments with Darktrace’s long-term objectives. Hellemons will head global Sales and Solutions Engineering, enhancing customer and prospect engagement across major markets and industries. Both executives will report directly to Jill Popelka, CEO.
Raju succeeds Cathy Graham, who joined Darktrace as CFO in 2020 and left the role in September. Hellemons succeeds Denise Walter, who stepped down as CRO following Darktrace’s sale to Thoma Bravo last year.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Suman and Hein to the executive team. 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,” said Jill Popelka, CEO of Darktrace. “I’m grateful to Cathy for her incredible contributions over the past five years, and we wish her success in her next chapter.”
Raju joins Darktrace with a strong track record of scaling public and private B2B enterprise SaaS companies and leading global finance organizations through periods of transformation. Most recently, he served as CFO at Ivalua, where he helped prepare the company for public markets, led strategic transactions, and drove strong growth in recurring revenue and profitability. Raju previously held CFO roles at Crownpeak Technologies and SAP Ariba, where he led international teams and supported M&A and strategic growth initiatives.
“Darktrace is at the forefront of AI innovation in cybersecurity, and I’m excited to join the team at a time of real momentum and transformation,” Raju said. “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.”
Hellemons brings a breadth of experience leading go-to-market teams at global cybersecurity and technology companies. Most recently, he served as CRO at KnowBe4, where he led global sales, marketing, customer success, and channel operations and played a key role in scaling the business. He previously held senior leadership roles at VMware, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Microsoft, with a focus on enterprise sales and go-to-market strategy globally.
“What drew me to Darktrace is its best-in-class technology – AI that can detect never-before-seen threats in real time and protect organizations across their entire digital ecosystem,” Hellemons said. “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. 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.”
To learn more about Suman Raju and Hein Hellemons or the rest of the Darktrace executive team, visit the website here.
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