Cybersecurity specialist Cylera appoints COO to drive domestic and international expansion

Cheltenham-based Cylera, a pioneer in healthcare IoT and medical device cybersecurity, has appointed a new Chief Operating Officer, Geyer Jones, as the firm looks to build on its success in the UK and US healthcare sectors.  

Last year, in the UK, an attack against the National Health Services’ key patient telephone service, NHS 111, led to major disruption to patient care services such as ambulance dispatch, out-of-hours appointments and emergency prescriptions. In the U.S., 2022 saw in excess of 600 healthcare providers attacked, including the significant ransomware attack against CommonSpirit Health, the U.S.’s second largest healthcare provider.

The increase in attacks and usage of IoT medical devices has led to demands from Healthcare CEOs, Heads of Hospital IT, and Boards of Directors, for improved cybersecurity controls to better protect patient safety and the resiliency of healthcare IT and IoT systems needed by hospitals. Cylera’s patented technology protects entire connected healthcare IoT environments and helps to solve the complex technological and operational cybersecurity challenges faced by 21st Century hospitals today.

Geyer will oversee the strategic planning and operational direction of the firm as the cybersecurity specialist looks to secure its foothold in the UK and U.S. markets, and as it continues to expand into new territories.

Geyer will be responsible for leading and scaling the company’s growth and go-to market teams, while also ensuring that the company has the business model, assets and services in place to serve customers, scale the business and provide the right environment for employees to grow and thrive.   

“I’ve joined Cylera at an exciting point in its growth strategy”, he said. “Hospital networks are becoming increasingly complex with tens of thousands more medical devices coming online over the next couple of years which are essential to critical patient care and diagnostics. As hospitals experience rapid digitalisation to streamline, fast track and improve patient care, this is increasing attack surfaces and potential vulnerabilities in their IT infrastructure.”

“Cylera continues to do things the right way by focusing on customer outcomes, delivering sustainable growth by continually testing the market, and by making sure its products and services are ready to deliver solutions which are needed by its customers”

Geyer has led various business and operations functions across cybersecurity companies with managed services, enterprise software and SaaS businesses. Before joining Cylera, he was an Executive in Residence at Scale Venture Partners. Prior to joining Scale, he was Chief Strategy Officer at RSA, sitting on the team that led RSA’s divestiture from Dell, resulting in STG’s $2.1b acquisition. Earlier in his career, he held senior positions at Symantec and Riptech, helping grow its MSS business from $15m to over $150m. 

Co-Founder and CEO, Timur Ozekcin, added: “Geyer has a fantastic reputation for building key business infrastructure strategies that deliver sustainable and successful long-term growth. He will be a key member of the team in helping to increase our market share in the UK and U.S., and in helping us to move into new markets in the future.  

“Working in the healthcare sector, it’s vital that we ensure we have the right business model, infrastructure, products and services in place to deliver the high levels of cybersecurity protection our customers, and their patients, need. Following a strategic, sustainable growth strategy enables us to provide exceptional products and services, while also staying on top of the ever-changing face of cybersecurity threats.”