Seasoned security expert to help fuel SandboxAQ’s growth and enhance its cybersecurity offerings
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — SandboxAQ today announced it has appointed veteran cybersecurity executive Chris Bates as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). As the company’s first CISO, Bates is responsible for protecting SandboxAQ’s data, communications, and intellectual property, while leveraging his expertise in sales, product development, messaging, and go-to-market (GTM) strategies to help develop the company’s AQtive Guard cryptography management platform.
Bates joins SandboxAQ from SentinelOne, where he served as Chief Trust and Security Officer and helped scale the company to the largest cybersecurity IPO to date in 2021. Throughout his more than seven-year tenure, Bates led and was accountable for a variety of business and technical functions relating to cybersecurity, GTM, product, SaaS operations, data, privacy and more.
“I’m incredibly excited to join the SandboxAQ team, whose AI and quantum solutions are already having such an impact in cybersecurity and other fields,” said Bates. “SandboxAQ’s AQtive Guard software platform is redefining how leading banks and other large enterprises defend themselves in the face of increasingly sophisticated AI-driven attacks. I look forward to helping SandboxAQ and our customers succeed.”
“Chris brings a unique mix of experience in cybersecurity, governance, operations, engineering, DevSecOps, product development and more to SandboxAQ,” said Jack D. Hidary, CEO of SandboxAQ. “We welcome Chris to SandboxAQ and look forward to collaborating with him as our company grows and evolves.”
“Chris’ expert knowledge of the security challenges faced by global corporations and government agencies will enable us to continually strengthen AQtive Guard, enhancing its abilities to protect our customer’s infrastructure and strengthening their cybersecurity posture through modern cryptography management and Zero Trust initiatives,” said Marc Manzano, General Manager, Cybersecurity Group at SandboxAQ. “Chris will engage with his CISO peers at our customers today which include global banks, government agencies and other large enterprises.”
Prior to SentinelOne, Bates held technical leadership roles at various companies across multiple industries, including Nike, Fidelis Cybersecurity (General Dynamics), NuScale Power, and ACS (Xerox), and consulted for RSA (EMC). Throughout his career, Chris has built integrated intelligence functions with multiple domestic and foreign intelligence services, showcasing his ability to identify threats and solve complex challenges. Chris began his career in 1996, helping build some of the first Internet Service Providers in central Oregon. He is currently a member of the advisory boards of strongDM, YL Ventures, IT-ISAC and two stealth startups.
About SandboxAQ
SandboxAQ is an enterprise SaaS company, providing solutions at the nexus of AI and Quantum technology (AQ) to address some of the world’s greatest challenges. The company’s core team and inspiration formed at Alphabet Inc., emerging as an independent, growth capital-backed company in 2022. SandboxAQ is backed by T. Rowe Price, Eric Schmidt (chairman of SandboxAQ), Breyer Capital, Guggenheim Partners, Marc Benioff, Thomas Tull, Paladin Capital Group, and other leading investors. For more information, visit http://www.sandboxaq.com.
SOURCE SandboxAQ
