909Exec

909Exec Podcast

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The 909Exec Podcast Hosted by Den Jones, CEO of 909Cyber, this podcast dives into real-world leadership with insights from top execs across industries. From startups to global giants, Den brings wit, wisdom, and his signature Scottish flair to every episode—helping you lead smarter, grow faster, and avoid the pitfalls.

2d ago

Episode 65: From Big Data to Personal Safety: Doxxing, AI Risk, and Protecting People in a Data-Driven World with Rachel Vrabec

Brought to you by 909Shield. Interview fraud is on the rise — fake candidate profiles, proxy interviews, and AI-driven scams designed to slip past your hiring team. 909Shield helps organizations keep their interview process secure end to end. Learn more at 909shield.ai. 909Exec is the executive leadership podcast from 909Cyber, hosted by founder and CEO Den Jones, whose three-plus decades in enterprise security span Adobe, Cisco, SonicWall, and Banyan Security — where cybersecurity meets business strategy. In episode 65, Den is joined by Rachel Vrabec, founder and CEO of Kanary, to discuss how personal data has become both a powerful asset and a serious liability in the age of AI. Rachel traces her path from growing up a builder in Northern Wisconsin, to strategy consulting at IBM (design strategy, SAP, early enterprise Apple Watch deployments, and IoT safety modeling across Seoul, Madrid, and Tokyo), to political data science at Civis Analytics — where she sat beside the head of security while state-funded actors targeted the company's predictive models during the 2016 election. That front-row seat to data's power and risk pushed her to found Kanary: a platform that scrapes the web to map an individual's exposure, builds threat models for doxing, impersonation, and account takeover, and automates mitigation — for individuals and for organizations including the federal DOJ, major tech companies, and highly targeted nonprofits. Den and Rachel dig into how AI accelerates both the accuracy and the danger of personal data exposure, why Kanary acts as a "personal pen tester" running popular prompts against LLMs to catch leaks, and how harmful data can be removed or aged out as models retrain. They also cover Kanary's move toward multimodal protection (images and video), why takedowns alone aren't enough, and how digital signals now plug into physical security programs. The conversation closes with Rachel's honest take on founding a startup: the pressure of hyper-growth narratives, why "getting the right people in the right seats" is the real unlock, and how to stop carrying founder regret as baggage that slows you down. What we cover: Interview fraud and how 909 Shield protects hiring Rachel's path from IBM to political data science at Civis Analytics Gender dynamics in early tech education Nation-state attacks on the 2016 election, witnessed firsthand From "big data" and neural nets to today's AI branding Why Rachel founded Kanary: data as early-warning protection, not monetization Threat models for doxing, impersonation, account takeover Kanary's work with the federal DOJ, tech leaders, and the National Network of Abortion Funds Acting as a "personal pen tester" for AI chatbots and LLMs Removing harmful data from AI models via patches and retraining Going multimodal: images and video, not just text Why removal alone isn't a strategy — pairing digital signals with physical security Limits of DIY "email every data broker" approaches Founder lessons: hiring right, rejecting hyper-growth myths, letting go of regret Guest: Rachel Vrabec, Founder & CEO of Kanary Host: Den Jones, Founder & CEO of 909 Cyber Links: 909Shield: https://909shield.ai 909Cyber: https://909cyber.com Kanary: https://www.kanary.com/ If you found value here, subscribe, rate, and share 909 Exec. #CyberSecurity #ExecutiveLeadership #AIPrivacy #Doxxing #Kanary #909Exec Chapters: 00:00 Interview fraud & 909 Shield 00:48 Intro & guest setup 02:48 Childhood & early tech exposure 10:28 Joining IBM 16:39 Civis Analytics 20:54 2016 election targeting; big data to AI 29:17 Founding Kanary 34:15 AI, LLM risk & data removal 37:14 Going multimodal & physical security 42:53 Why "delete my data" doesn't work 44:01 Founder lessons & letting go of baggage
Jul 18

Episode 64: Hydration as a Superpower: Zeus Kajita on Brain-First Wellness and Ki Electrolytes

Introduction Hosted by Den Jones—founder and CEO of 909 Cyber and veteran enterprise security leader—909 Exec explores the real-life journeys and wisdom of executives shaping the business and technology world. In Episode 64, Den sits down with Zeus Kajita, the co-founder of Ki Electrolytes, to discuss his background, entrepreneurial lessons, and personal health journey. Main Topics Covered Cultural Background & Early Life: Zeus discusses growing up in the Bay Area heavily influenced by his father's Japanese heritage, which instilled a foundation of healthy eating and tea culture. He also touches on his family's deep roots in international business and travel, which led to his early experiences working overseas in Guam right after high school. Entrepreneurial Ventures & Key Lessons: Reflecting on a history of starting various businesses, Zeus frames his past failures as invaluable "outside the classroom" education. He emphasizes that choosing the right business partner is critical—attributing many past setbacks to misaligned partnerships or poor timing—and highlights his core strengths in business development, relationship-building, and establishing trust. Health Crisis & The Creation of Ki: Zeus opens up about his personal struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he found himself 60 pounds overweight, tired, and depressed. This pivotal turning point prompted a return to the healthy habits of his youth and ultimately inspired him to create Ki Electrolytes.
Jun 21

Episode 63: Rethinking DLP: Nightfall AI’s Rohan Sathe on Data Protection in the Age of AI Agents

Introduction Summary Hosted by CEO Den Jones, "909 Exec" is a leadership podcast from 909 Cyber. Jones uses his 30+ years of enterprise security experience at companies like Adobe and Cisco to help executives navigate risk and transformation. Episode 63 features Nightfall AI co-founder and CEO Rohan Sathe for a deep dive into Data Loss Prevention (DLP). Main Topics Covered Entrepreneurial Journey: Sathe discusses his Silicon Valley roots and transition from the Uber Eats founding team to a cybersecurity founder. Consumer-Grade Enterprise Software: Sathe applies lessons from Uber Eats—building scalable products for low-switching-cost markets—to drive Nightfall’s enterprise product quality. Fundraising Strategy: Outlining Nightfall’s $65M total raise, Sathe emphasizes prioritizing investors who offer cybersecurity expertise and founder empathy over just capital. Flaws of Legacy DLP: After interviewing ~100 CISOs in 2018, Sathe found legacy tools were noisy, unpopular, and unsuited for modern cloud apps like Slack and Google Drive. Skepticism & Pain Points: Jones details his historical skepticism of DLP, citing lost employee productivity, high false-positive rates, blind spots, and a heavy reliance on user-driven classification. Design Principles: Nightfall aims to make DLP "invisible" to end-users unless an incident occurs. Jones relates this to his view that security should be "invisible, invincible, and inexpensive." Frictionless Architecture: Unlike SASE vendors that rely on latency-heavy network proxies, Nightfall targets optimal insertion points to eliminate user workflow delays and efficiently handle false positives. AI-Driven Risk Modeling: Replacing legacy regex rules with neural-network NLP and computer vision, Nightfall uses a comprehensive risk model evaluating identity, data lineage, and destinations to identify true incidents. Board-Level AI Concerns: As boards push for rapid AI adoption, AI data protection is now critical. This demands strict governance over autonomous agents operating at machine speed. Expanding Customers: Initially successful with tech-forward health and fintech companies, Nightfall's customer base has expanded into traditional sectors like manufacturing due to new AI security needs. Deployment & Value: Nightfall ensures rapid deployment via lightweight endpoint agents and system APIs (avoiding proxies). It integrates directly with SaaS apps and AI platforms to track prompts and agent actions. Managing Data: Nightfall tracks data movement between corporate and personal environments, including AI tools like ChatGPT. It can monitor or block personal AI usage and track file lineage to determine corporate ownership. Policy Enforcement: The platform uses customizable policies to block risky actions, present user justification prompts, and offer optional bypasses tailored to organizational philosophies. Startup Strategy & Compliance: Both agree expensive conference booths yield low ROI, favoring targeted events like dinners. Jones advises pursuing compliance primarily to unblock deals, noting it does not equate to actual security. Selling to CISOs: Acknowledging that CISOs are overwhelmed with pitches, they emphasize humility, understanding the customer's specific problems, and building long-term trust. Closing Reflections: Sathe admits he initially underestimated the importance of go-to-market strategies in cybersecurity. He warns that autonomous AI agents will permanently alter security paradigms. Jones concludes by clarifying the episode was unpaid and commending Sathe for changing his negative perception of DLP.
Jun 9

Episode 62: From Art to AI: Toni Vanwinkle on Designing the Future of Work at Adobe

In this episode of 909 Exec, host Den Jones sits down with longtime friend and mentor Toni Vanwinkle, Adobe’s leader for Digital Employee Experience and co-chair of AI, to explore how technology, disruption, and human-centered leadership are reshaping the future of work. Toni shares her nonlinear “career lattice” journey from aspiring artist to finance professional, then into consulting and large-scale enterprise transformations at Cisco, before spending 16 years at Adobe in multiple roles. Along the way she discovered a passion for technology as a powerful way to solve business problems, implementing early automations and ERP systems, and learning how organizational change management is essential to bringing people along in any transformation. She opens up about pivotal personal decisions—like leaving a high-stress role to pursue consulting so she could prioritize starting a family—and how she and her husband redesigned their careers to create a sustainable “container” for work and parenting. Toni explains why you can have it all, just not all at the same time, and how aligning career moves with life needs and values has guided her path. Den and Toni dive into the trap of “work, work, work” in your 20s, and why so many professionals are blind to the need to prioritize their physical, financial, and spiritual health, as well as their broader sense of purpose. Toni encourages people to see themselves as multidimensional, drawing on her own artistic background to show how creativity can fuel even highly technical roles. The conversation then turns to the future of work and the transformative impact of AI. Toni outlines three key questions she uses to reimagine work: Do we still need to do this work? How can technology augment us as a thought partner? And what can we safely automate and delegate to machines? She envisions a future where humans provide context, creativity, and critical thinking, while AI accelerates consistency, reasoning, and problem-solving. As co-chair of AI at Adobe, Toni discusses how the company is embedding AI into products while maintaining a foundation of trust—focusing on security, ethics, and bias in models—and why educating employees on both AI proficiency and “human in the loop” responsibility is critical. She emphasizes that humans remain accountable for outcomes, even when AI is involved, and notes that bad actors are also using AI, which raises the stakes for security. Den and Toni compare the AI boom to the early web era, agreeing that AI will dwarf previous technology shifts in impact. They explore how AI is already accelerating work—from building internal tools and quizzes in minutes instead of weeks, to rethinking build-vs-buy decisions for enterprise software—while acknowledging that large-scale enterprises still need robust data, governance, and security layers. Throughout, they return to themes of wellbeing and sustainability in high-intensity operational roles, likening security and operations leaders to first responders. Toni argues that leaders must actively “bench” exhausted team members and continually reassess what they value—impact, relationships, spiritual and physical health, or time outdoors—so they can make conscious tradeoffs instead of unconsciously sacrificing their lives to work. To close, Toni shares what recharges her outside of work: time at the beach in any weather, the sense of wonder she finds in her garden, and the visceral energy she gets from live music. Den adds his own love of gardening, wine, and concerts, underscoring their shared belief that a rich life outside the office fuels better leadership inside it.
May 30

Episode 61: Reinventing Cyber Tabletop Exercises with AI: Den Jones & Cassio Goldschmidt

This episode of “909 Exec,” hosted by 909 Cyber CEO Den Jones, explores where cybersecurity meets business strategy. Guest Cassio Goldschmidt, CTO of Reflex, discusses his career evolution and the launch of Reflex Security. Early Tech Roots: Discovered computers as a teenager in Brazil, which naturally led to a computer science degree. Silicon Valley: Moved to California to join Cisco just before the internet boom. Initial Projects: Worked on industrial automation in Brazil, followed by PC configuration (“Splice”) and early video conferencing initiatives at Cisco. CISO Success: Effective Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) need strong interpersonal skills and business alignment, not just technical expertise. Role Differences: A Business Information Security Officer (BISO) acts as a consultant across shared business units. In contrast, a CISO owns the resources and integrates deeply into daily operations. Community Networking: Engaging in communities like OWASP and BSides is essential for ongoing learning, collaboration, and building career resilience. A New Challenge: After guiding ServiceTitan's security program from its early days through an IPO, Cassio left his CISO role to satisfy his engineering and inventive mindset. Founding Reflex: He launched Reflex (Reflect Security) to build a truly innovative solution for incident preparedness. The Problem: Traditional tabletop exercises are often static, PowerPoint-driven, and lack engagement for modern technical leaders. The Solution: Reflex is an AI-driven platform that runs dynamic, OSINT-tailored tabletop simulations under realistic pressure. Behavioral Tracking: It detects human factors like panic, mistakes, and cognitive overload to generate fact-based reports rather than opinion-based assessments. Platform Flexibility: Reflex can run combined or separate tabletops for tech and executive teams, model different personality types, and deploy rapidly. Remote Integration: Natively supports Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams. It uses AI agents to co-facilitate and ask role-specific questions. Market Disruption: Highly cost-effective and scalable, Reflex allows for frequent, targeted tabletops rather than expensive, one-off traditional engagements. Target Audience: Ideal for large enterprises (like Cisco) and private equity firms needing high-quality, frequent tabletops across multiple portfolios on a budget. Security Training: Provides an immersive alternative to standard security awareness training by actively engaging users in common scenarios like MFA bypasses or USB risks. Future Vision: Enables organizations to track measurable team improvement over time, helping meet strict compliance and third-party preparedness expectations. Financial Status: Backed by professional VCs, Reflex emerged from stealth in January after a year of development. It is pre-Series A but has a secure, multi-year financial runway. Den and Cassio advise aspiring leaders to know their “why” and pursue disruptive strategies rather than the status quo. Reflex is highlighted as a low-friction, risk-reducing alternative for budget-constrained CISOs. The episode concludes by celebrating the partnership between 909 Cyber and Reflex, emphasizing a shared goal of revolutionizing organizational tabletop exercises.
May 16

Episode 60: From Car Crash to CEO Coach with Seamus Fox

Introduction While Silicon Valley obsessively prioritizes technical excellence, enterprise organizations frequently overlook the ultimate variable in leadership success: the executive mindset. In this episode of 909 Exec, host Den Jones sits down with high-performance coach Seamus Fox to bridge the gap between business strategy and psychological alignment. Moving past corporate buzzwords, this conversation serves as a tactical masterclass for CEOs and founders on how true authenticity, strict energy management, and behavioral value alignment directly dictate a company’s bottom line. Seamus Fox is an author, TEDx speaker, and executive coach with 21 years of experience. Raised in volatile 1980s Northern Ireland, Fox left school at 16 without qualifications. Following a severe, life-altering car crash fueled by a destructive partying lifestyle, he pivoted toward intense self-discovery. He channeled this discipline into bodybuilding—winning Mr. Northern Ireland in 2005—which launched his 21-year career spanning fitness entrepreneurship to global executive coaching. Today, he helps elite business leaders realign their lives from the inside out. Fox leverages axiology (the study of value and worth) to dissect why outwardly successful leaders often feel empty. He argues that fulfillment is achieved only when an executive lives by their true, intrinsic values rather than external, "injected" societal expectations. Using a methodology developed by Dr. John DeMartini, Fox helps leaders identify a critical gap: what people say they value is rarely what their daily actions demonstrate. This behavioral friction generates severe psychological, physiological, and relational stress. Executives often suppress their challenging traits to play the "perfect, positive leader" at work. Fox warns that this emotional suppression causes a toxic displacement, where the negative energy inevitably explodes at home. True authenticity requires being "both-sided"—embracing vulnerability and speaking hard truths at work, which fosters deeper corporate resonance and protects family life. Fox strongly critiques generic corporate "values on a wall," noting that employees work to fulfill their own priorities, not a company's static manifesto. The Solution: Fox maps out "complementary opposites" within executive teams, showing how different individual value hierarchies can be leveraged to collectively achieve the corporate mission. Fox asserts a direct correlation between an executive's vitality and business performance. Leaders must ruthlessly identify energy-draining, low-priority tasks—coined the "Shit List"—and automate, delegate, or eliminate them. This frees up the leader to operate exclusively within their unique "superpower," while providing growth opportunities for subordinates who actually value those delegated tasks. Addressing the "lonely hot seat" of the C-suite, Den and Seamus discuss how false ego and pride block executives from admitting fear. Fox provides confidential 1-to-1 coaching and curates intensive 4-to-5-day decompression retreats in the Algarve, combining breathwork, physical training, and peer connection to reset the nervous system of high-pressure male leaders. Audit Your Alignment: Evaluate how you actually spend your time and money to uncover your real values, not your stated ones. Build Your "Shit List": Audit your daily routine. Pinpoint three draining tasks to immediately delegate or eliminate. Speak in Their Values: Eliminate deaf ears by framing your corporate directives around what your team members natively care about. About the Guest: Seamus FoxCore Topics Covered1. Mindset, Purpose, and "Axiology"2. Declaring Values vs. Demonstrated Behavior3. The Dangerous Duplicity of Leadership4. Overhauling Corporate Culture & Executive Teams5. Energy Management and the "Shit List"6. Safe Spaces and Men’s Mental HealthActionable Takeaways
Apr 19

Episode 59: From B-52 Bomber to Cybersecurity CEO: Carl Herberger's Journey Through Military Aviation, Corporate Security, and Building DDoS Defense

Join host Den Jones as he sits down with Carl Herberger, CEO of Corero, for a fascinating conversation that spans from military aviation to cybersecurity leadership. Carl shares his unique journey from flying B-52 bombers to becoming a Pentagon cyber warfare pioneer, then transitioning to corporate security roles at Campbell Soup Company before founding multiple security companies. This episode explores the critical importance of DDoS protection and cyber resiliency in today's threat landscape. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: - Early Life and Military Background Carl discusses his German-American upbringing and path to military serviceKey quote: "I was born in the US, but because my father was an electrician for, at the time, Transworld Airlines, he got laid off in the mid '60s, late '60s when I was born" - B-52 Aviation Career Details about his eight years as a B-52 aviator and the demanding nature of military flyingKey quote: "Being a military flight crew member, it is fundamentally rewires your brain. You learn things that maybe many other professions don't learn. You must fundamentally know everything about the machine" - Military Aviation Mindset How military aviation shaped his approach to risk and decision-makingKey quote: "It's what you don't know or you didn't research, that's what will kill you. It's as simple as that" - Pentagon Cyber Warfare Role Transition from aviation to becoming part of the initial cadre of cyber warriors in the mid-90sKey quote: "They were putting together a cadre of people and they put together disciplines that they believed would have sensibilities about this idea" - Life Philosophy and Career Approach Discussion about being open to unexpected opportunities and following your heartKey quote: "Your brain will never make you happy, never. There's no place in the world and no scenario in the world with thinking will make you happy. Only your heart will make you happy" - Personal Story Philosophy Carl's perspective on life as an ongoing story you author dailyKey quote: "Every person is a story and you are the author. And the coolest thing about that journey is like any movie that you watch" - Campbell Soup Company Experience His role as CISO covering diverse brands and business modelsKey quote: "Campbell's what people didn't realize, and they still own many of these businesses, they own a lot of product. I mean, Pepperidge Farm, you're probably familiar with" - Transition to Entrepreneurship Moving from cost center to revenue-generating business rolesKey quote: "No matter what I did as a CISO, I would still always be a cost to the business... I was never going to be really fundamentally revenue relevant to Campbell's" - The DDoS Problem Why most CISOs don't prioritize DDoS protection despite its critical importanceKey quote: "Most CISOs don't care about it, truly... They prefer to deal with what I would consider to be more what people consider to be table stakes, security problems" - Availability as Critical Security The fundamental importance of availability in the CIA triadKey quote: "If you can't keep your internet up, if you can't keep your application up, if you can't keep your system up, if you can't keep your service up, you're done" - Regulatory Changes in Cyber Resiliency New regulations driving demand for DDoS protection and cyber resiliencyKey quote: "There's something called the Digital Organizational Resiliency Act. And if you're a critical infrastructure provider, you have to prove that you're not just checking the box in this space" - DDoS as Major Threat The prevalence of DDoS attacks in the current threat landscapeKey quote: "The number two is cyber attack in the world. It's ransomware and DDoS"
Mar 29

Episode 58: From Million-Dollar Success to Soul-Life Balance: An Executive's Journey to Emotional Fitness

Join Den Jones as he sits down with Sam Kabert, an emotional fitness trainer who built a seven-figure business by age 31 but discovered that financial success didn't equal life fulfillment. Sam shares his transformation from chasing work-life balance to embracing soul-life balance, and introduces the neuroscience-backed concept of emotional fitness that's helping executives break free from burnout and negative thought loops. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: - From Success to Depression Sam discusses achieving seven-figure success while working minimal hours but experiencing numbing depressionKey quote: "I was running on the programming of when I achieve A, B, C, I will feel X, Y, Z. So that always kept me in the future state" - The Be-Do-Have Model Introduction to shifting from doing-having-being to being-doing-having for sustainable success Key quote: "For myself and a lot of entrepreneurs and a lot of high performers, they're just stuck in the doing mode" - Soul-Life Balance vs Work-Life Balance Sam explains his concept of soul-life balance that includes tending to inner world and spirituality Key quote: "Soul life balance is recategorizing work life balance to fit work underneath life because that is all the doing energy" - The 90-Second Rule of Emotions Discussion of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor's neuroscience research on emotional processing Key quote: "We are feeling creatures who think, not thinking creatures who feel" - What is Emotional Fitness? Sam defines emotional fitness as breathe first, feel second, lead with strength Key quote: "If people learn how to regulate their nervous system just long enough to feel that emotion for two minutes, a minute and a half or so, then all of a sudden they can get clear thinking" - Three Ways of Working Sam outlines his service offerings: keynotes/workshops, one-on-one coaching, and certification training - The Future of Emotional Health Discussion on the shift from mental health focus to emotional fitness prioritization Key quote: "I see the future of humanity and our wellness prioritizing emotional health"

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Creator

909Exec Podcast
Years Active

2024 - 2026
Episodes

65
Rating

Explicit
Show Website

909Exec

909Exec

Episodes

Episode 65: From Big Data to Personal Safety: Doxxing, AI Risk, and Protecting People in a Data-Driven World with Rachel Vrabec

Episode 64: Hydration as a Superpower: Zeus Kajita on Brain-First Wellness and Ki Electrolytes

Episode 63: Rethinking DLP: Nightfall AI’s Rohan Sathe on Data Protection in the Age of AI Agents

Episode 62: From Art to AI: Toni Vanwinkle on Designing the Future of Work at Adobe

Episode 61: Reinventing Cyber Tabletop Exercises with AI: Den Jones & Cassio Goldschmidt

Episode 60: From Car Crash to CEO Coach with Seamus Fox

Episode 59: From B-52 Bomber to Cybersecurity CEO: Carl Herberger's Journey Through Military Aviation, Corporate Security, and Building DDoS Defense

Episode 58: From Million-Dollar Success to Soul-Life Balance: An Executive's Journey to Emotional Fitness

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