Industry veterans, Michael Callahan (CMO) and Matt Quarles (CRO), join market leader to supercharge growth and extend the innovation gap between Salt Security and competitors
PALO ALTO, Calif. – October 18, 2023 – Salt Security, the leading API security company, today announced that Matt Quarles and Michael Callahan have joined the company as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), respectively. Combined, Quarles and Callahan have more than four decades of experience driving business strategy and leading sales and marketing functions at both startups and public companies across the IT and cybersecurity industry. Quarles and Callahan will play a pivotal role in leading Salt Security into its next phase of growth and executing the company’s global go-to-market strategy.
Since 2016, Salt Security has led and advanced the API security market with its proven and mature API security platform. Salt is the only API security solution leveraging the power of cloud-scale big data and time-tested artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. According to the Salt Labs State of API Security Report, Q1 2023, 94% of respondents experienced security problems in production APIs in the past year. Nearly half (48%) also stated that API security has become a C-level discussion within their organization. To meet market agility and demand for robust API security solutions, Salt continues to rapidly scale global marketing and sales operations, and bolster product capabilities and R&D efforts. Quarles and Callahan will work closely with executive leadership to grow and sustain this momentum.
Quarles is an experienced CRO with a proven track record driving revenue growth across all commercial functions at disruptive, rapid-growth software companies. Prior to joining Salt, Quarles served as CRO at Posit, an open-source data science company, where he led the company’s global sales, customer success, business development, and field operations. He has also previously worked at publicly traded companies including Google and Accenture, and has built global commercial teams at early-stage cybersecurity companies such as Ionic Security and Evident ID. In his new role at Salt, Quarles will lead all commercial operations.
"I’m excited to join Salt during this pivotal period of growth as the API security market continues to mature," said Quarles. "As the first entrant into the market, Salt’s technology and deep expertise of API threats and risks is unmatched. I am looking forward to working alongside Salt’s leadership team and with our customers and partners to enhance our value propositions."
Callahan joins Salt with more than 20 years of marketing expertise spanning across product marketing, marketing operations, corporate branding and positioning, demand generation, field and channel marketing and public relations. He boasts extensive cybersecurity experience, most recently serving as CMO at Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection. He has also held leadership roles at Cofense, McAfee, HP, Firemon, Juniper, Zimperium and others. At Salt, Callahan will lead all marketing functions and drive global brand awareness.
“I am thrilled to be joining Salt as the need for API security solutions is at an all time high,” said Callahan. “APIs are at the core of modern enterprises, connecting individuals and businesses to vital data and services. Thus, more organizations than ever before are allocating more resources to securing their API ecosystems as they extend applications to their customers, partners and employees. I am excited to continue to grow our global market presence and help organizations stay protected against volatile API attacks.”
The addition of Quarles and Callahan follows another significant year for Salt Security. Most recently, Salt announced its expanded partnership with CrowdStrike, integrating the Salt Security API Protection Platform with the industry-leading CrowdStrike Falcon® Platform. The company also launched the Salt Technical Ecosystem Partner (STEP) program in August 2023, making it easier and faster for enterprises to leverage the deep API adaptive intelligence Salt provides to reduce risk throughout their API ecosystem.
"We are honored to add Matt and Michael to Salt’s executive leadership team,” said Michael Nicosia, COO and co-founder at Salt Security. “Both have impressive track records in their respective roles and are uniquely positioned to help us expand our global operations and propel growth."