The Gate 15 Interview EP 42: Foster on building high-performing cybersecurity teams, complex threats, bringing the noise and musical obsessions

In this episode of The Gate 15 Interview, Andy Jabbour welcomes Eric Foster, Chief Operating Officer at Stairwell. Prior startups include Cyderes.com (co-founder under Gary Fish, sold to Apax Partners / merged with Robert Herjavec’s Herjavec Group), RiskIQ.com (sold to Microsoft), MMAjunkie.com (founder, sold to USA Today) and eScout.com (incubation team, sold to PerfectCommerce). Active advisory roles include: Onspring.com, Stairwell.com. Past advisory roles: PhoneFactor (sold to Microsoft). Eric is a recognized domain expert in Information Security, Regulatory Compliance, and CusEricer Success. In the discussion we address: Eric’s origin story His experience as a founder and entrepreneur, and the importance of mentorship Building high-performance teams and developing corporate culture Eric’s work from founding CYDERES to his current work with Stairwell The complex intersection of geopolitical threats and increased conflict in a world that is rapidly accelerating in positive directions in technology We play Three Questions and talk careers in an alternate universe, flying through space with Elon, Eric’s musical obsessions, and more – including Radiohead and Sleep Token! A few references mentioned in or relevant to our discussion include: CYDERES Stairwell Learn more about the Stairwell Culture Google Blog: A new approach to China, January 12, 2010 (in late 2009, Google was the victim of a major cybersecurity attack, code named Operation Aurora)