SAN FRANCISCO and TEL AVIV, Israel, Aug. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Global cybersecurity venture capital firm, YL Ventures, today announced the appointment of Andy Ellis, formerly an Operating Partner at the firm, to Partner. Ellis’s extensive experience in the cybersecurity industry spans over three decades, with cybersecurity roles in the U.S. Air Force, a 20-year career as Chief Security Officer (CSO) at Akamai and over a decade spent advising, investing in and guiding YL Ventures portfolio companies as the firm’s first advisor and Operating Partner.
Ellis has worked closely with the firm’s entrepreneurs, assisting them in developing their companies and accelerating their go-to-market efforts globally. As a partner, Ellis will expand his engagement with YL Ventures’ portfolio clients by leveraging his extensive experience and industry network, supporting the due diligence process of new investments, taking on more board member roles and assisting the firm’s founders to deepen their relationship with industry professionals and potential customers.
For 20 years, Ellis served as the CSO of Akamai, where he led the company’s entry into the cybersecurity market and shaped its cybersecurity policy. The company’s cybersecurity department under Ellis’s management grew significantly from a single person to a team of over 90 people, over 40% of whom were women. Ellis founded and manages Duha, which specializes in executive consulting and in 2023 published “1% Leadership,” a guide for leaders at all stages of their careers. As a highly respected industry leader, Ellis was inducted into the CSO Hall of Fame in 2021 and is a co-host of the popular ‘CISO Series’ podcast, as well as a regular guest on podcasts, webinars and events in the global cybersecurity industry.
“Andy’s unparalleled contribution to YL Ventures and its portfolio companies over the past decade has played a significant role in helping the firm place in PitchBook’s top 10 best-performing VCs worldwide,” says Yoav Leitersdorf, YL Ventures’ Managing Partner. “In addition to being one of the world’s leading cybersecurity experts, Andy’s unlimited fountain of knowledge and strategic acumen, coupled with his proven leadership skills and ability to motivate and empower founders, will undoubtedly continue to help our companies accelerate their growth and dominate the global market.”
About YL Ventures
YL Ventures funds and supports visionary cybersecurity entrepreneurs from seed to scale to help them evolve transformative ideas into market-leading companies. The firm accelerates company growth with tailored support through its powerful network of Chief Information Security Officers, global industry leaders and a dedicated team of multidisciplinary experts. Based in Silicon Valley, New York and Tel Aviv, YL Ventures manages five funds with $800M in total AUM. The firm has a track record of seeding cybersecurity unicorns such as Axonius and Orca Security, and its portfolio companies have been successfully acquired by high-profile, global industry leaders including Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, Okta and Proofpoint. PitchBook has ranked YL Ventures as one of the ten best-performing venture capital firms for two consecutive years (2022, 2023) in its prestigious Global Manager Performance Score League Tables, and the firm is the only cybersecurity-focused VC to secure a top 10 spot on the list.
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