Episode summary: 

Security architect, podcast host, and author Evgeniy Kharam has seen it again and again: a company buys a shiny new security product, and a year later, it’s still sitting on the shelf. Not because it didn’t work, but because no one knew how to explain it, use it, or get buy-in.

That gap between buying and deploying, between knowing and communicating, is what pulled Evgeniy into his next chapter. After years in technical delivery and architecture, he realized that soft skills weren’t nice to have; they were survival tools.

In this episode, we talk about what happens when security teams can’t translate what they do, how marketers can meet them in the middle, and why metaphors (tents, dogs, houses, you’ll see) work. We get into RSA booth fatigue, Zoom call awkwardness, and what it takes to connect with someone who’s nodding along but completely lost.

Also: hummus etiquette, a three-year campaign to get Evgeniy to CyberMarketingCon, and his dream escape plan involving a shawarma truck.

🔗 Links & Resources:

🎙️ Security Architecture PodcastCo-hosted by Evgeniy Kharam and Dmitry Raidman, this podcast delves into cybersecurity architecture, offering insights into network, application, and cloud security.Listen to the podcast

📘 Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills in Technical SalesEvgeniy Kharam's book emphasizes the importance of soft skills in technical sales and provides strategies to enhance communication and build trust. Get the book on Amazon

🧠 Soft Skills TechEvgeniy's platform is dedicated to coaching and resources on soft skills in the tech industry. Explore Soft Skills Tech

🏢 EK Cyber and Media ConsultingA consulting firm founded by Evgeniy Kharam, offering services in cybersecurity and media for vendors and MSSPs. Visit EK Cyber and Media Consulting

📺 Interview with Evgeniy KharamAn in-depth interview exploring Evgeniy's journey and insights into cybersecurity. Watch on YouTube

About Evgeniy:

Evgeniy Kharam has worn nearly every hat in cybersecurity from firewall deployment engineer to VP of Architecture at the Herjavec Group, where he helped grow the team from 15 to over 300. Over two decades in the industry gave him a front-row seat to a recurring problem: great tech failing because no one knew how to explain it.

That realization led him to focus on something most security pros avoid talking about: soft skills. He’s now the author of Architecting Success: The Art of Soft Skills in Technical Sales, host of From Tech to Trust, and co-founder of the Security Architecture Podcast. He also moderates panels, hosts interviews, and advises on the board of the Canadian Cybersecurity Network.

Evgeniy blends technical depth with a human-first approach, whether running a ski-slope cybersecurity conference or helping vendors communicate like real people. He now leads his own consulting firm, where he guides cybersecurity companies through both architecture and storytelling.

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Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Most first marketers don’t stay long enough to see scale. Thomas LeDuc did. Six years in, he’s still at Semperis, leading a 35-person marketing team and showing it’s possible to evolve from scrappy to strategic.

Gianna and Charles explore what makes that kind of longevity possible: the mindset shifts, the habits that stuck, and the moments that nearly broke him. This episode is full of clarity, honesty, and the kind of leadership most people don’t talk about.

You’ll hear:

This one will land if you’ve ever had to scale yourself while scaling a team.

🔗 Links & Resources:

Semperis — ⁠semperis.com⁠ 

How to build a centaur: Semperis hits $100M ARR milestone: https://www.insightpartners.com/ideas/how-to-build-a-centaur-semperis-hits-100m-arr-milestone/

When Space Camp calls, you go! #ForceForGood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEgz45b-RgA

⁠Webflow⁠ — No-code website builder

⁠Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society⁠: Join our 3,700+ member Slack, find jobs, and get connected.

About Tom:

Tom LeDuc joined Semperis in 2019 as a scrappy marketer and helped scale the company from a few million ARR to now more than $100M ARR, reaching “centaur status” in 2024. Today, he leads a 35-person team as CMO, overseeing everything from brand and product marketing to demand gen, field programs, and built out the SDR program.

Before Semperis, he held leadership roles at Verodin (acquired by FireEye). He got his start in cybersecurity as a BDR at Securonix and played a big role in building several categories you’ve probably seen on Gartner quadrants.

Outside work, Tom is a dad of two young kiddos, makes indie films, travels a lot, and is very pro-dog.

Thomas LeDuc on ⁠LinkedIn

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📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠ 

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Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on ⁠our website⁠, main ⁠LinkedIn page⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠ page, or podcast ⁠LinkedIn⁠ page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

Let’s talk about telecom infrastructure: complex, overlooked, and still running on outdated tools most vendors were never built to secure. This episode, we’re joined by Taha Sajid, telecom security architect and founder of Xecurity Pulse, who’s on a mission to fix the gaps in enterprise tools.

From growing up in Pakistan to leading security efforts at Huawei and Comcast, Taha’s story is all about solving real-world problems, sharing what he’s learned, and pushing back against the copy-paste approach to infrastructure security. He breaks down how an education-first go-to-market (GTM) strategy helped him land his first customers and why understanding the telecom stack is critical to protecting what matters most.

We also get into:

The human factors that still break security programs

Bootcamps that turn into a pipeline

Solving problems vs. pushing tools

Plus, the school Taha dreams of building for kids who deserve better than the status quo education.

👉 If you’re selling technical solutions, building trust from scratch, or just tired of surface-level cyber talk, this one’s for you.

About Taha:

Taha Sajid is the founder of Xecurity Pulse, a cybersecurity company focused on solving the unique challenges in telecom security. With a rich background that includes roles at Huawei, Ufone, and Comcast, Taha has been at the forefront of implementing Zero Trust architectures across global networks.

He pioneered the first 5G Security Bootcamp, authored "The Ultimate Blockchain Security Handbook," and leads a YouTube channel that delves into the convergence of AI, security, and telecom. His contributions to standards bodies like NIST, 3GPP, and the Linux Foundation underscore his commitment to advancing global cybersecurity practices.

Beyond his technical endeavors, Taha is passionate about mentorship. He has guided numerous professionals through the EB1A visa process, drawing from his own successful experience. Through his X-LAB initiative, he continues to innovate, bridging the gap between critical infrastructure and modern security solutions.

Follow Taha on LinkedIn.

🔗 Links & Resources:

🌐 Xecurity Pulse – Taha’s company focused on telecom security

📘 The Ultimate Blockchain Security Handbook – Book authored by Taha

Buy on Amazon

🧪 5G Security Bootcamp – Technical bootcamp designed and run by Taha

Explore the bootcamp

📺 Taha’s YouTube Channel – Deep dives on AI, security, and telecom

@XecurityPulse by Taha Sajid

🧠 X-LAB by Xecurity Pulse – Community + mentorship + tooling

Subscribe & Review:

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a ⭐ rating or review, it helps more marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

Most cybersecurity vendors lead with fear, gate their best features, and hide behind complexity. Bitwarden did the opposite and still won.

In this episode, Gianna and Maria sit down with Gary Orenstein, the Chief Customer Officer at Bitwarden, to break down how an open-source password manager with a “free forever” product became a trusted global brand across consumers and enterprises. No gimmicks. No fear-mongering. Just a strategy built on transparency, trust, and a product that actually works.

You’ll hear:

Why giving your product away can actually drive enterprise growth

How open source builds instant credibility and shortens sales cycles

The surprising emotional side of password security

What marketers should stop doing and what to try instead

How Bitwarden quietly created one of the most effective PLG motions in the industry

If you’re tired of the usual cybersecurity playbook, this episode is a refreshing—and useful—detour.

And yes, Gary’s dream job involves tiny foxes and national parks. Stick around for that.

Bitwarden

Channel Islands National Park

Central Park’s surprisingly excellent Instagram

Gary Orenstein is the Chief Customer Officer at Bitwarden, leading go-to-market across customer success, marketing, and sales. He’s been deep in the infrastructure and data space for years, with leadership roles at companies like Yellowbrick Data, SingleStore, and Fusion-io (which went public during his time there). Earlier, he ran marketing at Compellent, which IPO’d and was later acquired by Dell.

Translation: Gary knows what it takes to build and scale trust, from scrappy startups to big exits.

He’s also got the academic chops to match: a bachelor’s from Dartmouth and an MBA from Wharton.

Follow Gary on LinkedIn

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a ⭐ rating or review, it helps more marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

Tom Wentworth, CMO at Incident.io, got tired of doing the same stuff over and over, so he built AI agents to do it for him. Sales call summaries? Automated. Blog posts from discovery calls? Done in minutes. Battle cards? They update themselves.

He’s wiring together Slack, Notion, Zapier, Gong, and ChatGPT in ways that help his team move faster without adding headcount or complexity. There are no big declarations, just real systems that save time and don’t annoy people.

We talk about what’s working, what’s breaking, and how far you can push things without sounding like a robot. Also: cold plunges, prompt rage, and the Notion doc that’s 90 pages long.

🎧 Press play to hear how Tom stretches modern marketing ops with the right automation setup.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

About Tom:

Tom is a high-growth SaaS marketing leader with experience across enterprise GTM and product-led models. He writes occasionally about tech marketing at tomwentworth.com and previously hosted the Scaleup Marketing podcast.

Follow Tom on LinkedIn

Subscribe & Review:

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a ⭐ rating or review, it helps more marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Charles Gold on LinkedIn 

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

We’re back with a special episode recorded at RSAC 2025. The booths are packed up, and the leftover swag is gathering dust, but the real conversations are just getting started. 

Gianna and Maria sat down with Alexandra Charikova, Growth Marketing Manager at Escape and host of The Elephant in AppSec, to talk more about what marketing feels like right now with shifting teams, budget curveballs, and more noise than ever.

We got into the messy middle: navigating layoffs, budget cuts, and leadership turnover, all while still trying to show up, stand out, and connect with buyers. Alexandra shares why she’s officially anti-swag (and what’s in her expo survival kit instead), and we talk through what still works in 2025: human stories, smart content, and follow-up that doesn’t feel like a chore.

Also on the table are burnout, booth chaos, and how to make it through a conference without losing your mind. If you’ve ever been asked to “do more with less” or pitch a rebrand while the leadership team is changing around you… This one’s for you

Links & Resources Mentioned:

Cybersecurity Marketing Society - Home of this podcast, and the community where cybersecurity marketers share ideas, swap stories, and figure things out together.

Escape - Alexandra’s day job. They help folks secure modern apps, and they’re hiring smart marketers too (probably).

The Elephant in AppSec - Alexandra’s podcast. Honest convos, strong opinions, and the kind of AppSec talk you want to hear.

CyberMarketingCon - The Society’s yearly in-person event, where the vibes are strong, the talks are real, and the hallway convos might just change your career.

About Alexandra:

Alexandra isn’t just curious, she’s driven by it. That curiosity has taken her across disciplines, from marketing and sales ops to engineering, data, and project management. What ties it all together? A love of solving complex problems, especially alongside smart, collaborative people.

Outside of her day-to-day work, Alexandra is all in on making application security more accessible and honest. She’s the host of The Elephant in AppSec, a podcast that asks tough questions and challenges how the industry talks about security.

She thrives on connection and is always up for a thoughtful chat or fresh perspective, so don’t be shy about reaching out.

Follow her on LinkedIn. 
Subscribe & Review:

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a ⭐ rating or review, it helps more marketers find the show.

📩 Questions, feedback, or want to be a guest? Email: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

At RSAC 2025, most brands went sleek and high-speed: F1 cars, luxury lounges, big screens.

Torq showed up with a monster truck, a firey skeleton, and a single message: “SOAR is dead.”

It wasn’t a stunt; it was a fully realized creative campaign that stood out for all the right reasons. Thoughtful, bold, and totally out of left field, Torq’s RSAC Conference presence and brand philosophy drew comparisons to Wiz, widely regarded as the benchmark in cyber marketing excellence, from Forbes.

In this episode, Don Jeter, Torq's CMO, joins Gianna and Maria to unpack how a toy in a Costco aisle became the catalyst for a six-city Monster Jam tour, how off-the-cuff ideas turned into strategy, and why his team operates more like a jam band than a traditional marketing organization.

He also shares what it takes to build brands people care about and how that same creative-first mindset helped scale Pax8 from $5M to $1B.

Love this episode? Get more Don Jeter wisdom at CyberMarketingCon 2025, where he will give a keynote: Stop Marketing. Start World-Building.

Links & Resources Mentioned:

Torq.io

Pax8

About Don:

CMO at Torq, former growth architect at Pax8, and possibly the only marketing leader to launch a six-city Monster Jam tour to prove a point. Don builds brands people don’t just notice, they remember.

He’s a startup native with a strong point of view, a jam-band approach to execution, and a reputation for turning “what if” into actual pipeline. Whether burying SOAR or rethinking the RSAC booth experience, Don leads with story, trusts creative instinct, and always bets on brand.

When he’s not working, he’s probably sketching sneakers, dodging longboards, or figuring out how to sneak a skeleton mascot into the next campaign.

Follow Don on LinkedIn. 

Subscribe & Review:

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a ⭐ rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps us grow the show and reach more cyber marketers like you!

📩 Got feedback or want to be a guest? Email us: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

At RSAC 2025, most brands went sleek and high-speed: F1 cars, luxury lounges, big screens.

Torq showed up with a monster truck, a firey skeleton, and a single message: “SOAR is dead.”

It wasn’t a stunt; it was a fully realized creative campaign that stood out for all the right reasons. Thoughtful, bold, and totally out of left field, Torq’s RSAC Conference presence and brand philosophy drew comparisons to Wiz, widely regarded as the benchmark in cyber marketing excellence, from Forbes.

In this episode, Don Jeter, Torq's CMO, joins Gianna and Maria to unpack how a toy in a Costco aisle became the catalyst for a six-city Monster Jam tour, how off-the-cuff ideas turned into strategy, and why his team operates more like a jam band than a traditional marketing organization.

He also shares what it takes to build brands people care about and how that same creative-first mindset helped scale Pax8 from $5M to $1B.

Love this episode? Get more Don Jeter wisdom at CyberMarketingCon 2025, where he will give a keynote: Stop Marketing. Start World-Building.

Torq.io

Pax8

About Don:

He’s a startup native with a strong point of view, a jam-band approach to execution, and a reputation for turning “what if” into actual pipeline. Whether burying SOAR or rethinking the RSAC booth experience, Don leads with story, trusts creative instinct, and always bets on brand.

When he’s not working, he’s probably sketching sneakers, dodging longboards, or figuring out how to sneak a skeleton mascot into the next campaign.

Follow Don on LinkedIn. 

Enjoyed this episode? Leave us a ⭐ rating and review on your favorite podcast platform. It helps us grow the show and reach more cyber marketers like you!

📩 Got feedback or want to be a guest? Email us: [email protected] 

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. You can join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page. 

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

This week, Gianna and Maria are joined by Brian Goldfarb, CMO at SolarWinds and a veteran of some of the biggest names in tech, including Google, Tenable, and Salesforce. But this isn’t your typical “lessons from the top” chat.

Brian gets real about what it takes to lead modern marketing orgs: how to decide what’s worth fixing, why marketers need to think more like operators, and what it’s like steering GTM at a legacy brand undergoing massive transformation.

We talk trust, storytelling, and the fine art of not panicking even when you lose your job and voice in the same week.

About Guest:

A full-stack marketing executive with deep experience across the GTM spectrum from product marketing and demand gen to PR/AR, digital, and strategy. Known for translating complex technical products into powerful, scalable marketing programs that drive real pipeline.

Brian has led marketing for developer tools, cloud platforms (Azure, AWS, Google Cloud), and high-growth cybersecurity and infrastructure companies. His portfolio spans web technologies, mobility, media (codecs, DRM), and ad platforms, focusing on developer and technical audiences.

He’s built and scaled global marketing engines, aligned field and digital efforts, and helped take emerging tech from concept to category leader. Whether launching a new cloud product or rebuilding a GTM motion from scratch, Brian brings sharp execution, clear narrative, and a deep understanding of what makes modern B2B marketing work.

Follow him on LinkedIn. 

Subscribe & Review:

Got feedback or want to join the pod? Email us: [email protected] 

Follow the Hosts:

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, main LinkedIn page, Instagram page, or podcast LinkedIn page, and keep up with us on X.

See you in the next episode!

Episode Summary:

We’re back from RSAC Conference 2025, and what a week it was! Gianna and Maria recap their third RSAC Conference rodeo in style in this live-recorded, post-conference edition of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing.

We break down the boldest, weirdest, and most wonderful marketing moments from the show floor (and the streets of San Francisco), including:

CrowdStrike’s genius geo-targeted Uber ads

Sweet Security’s literal singing swag truck

Wiz’s cloud security toy store (!!)

And Rubrik’s nostalgic retro arcade booth

We also launched something big: The Cybersecurity Marketing Practice, our brand-new advisory service for cyber founders and venture capitalists (VCs). We threw a sold-out marketer party, handed out coloring books at the Marketer Oasis, and supported early-stage startups through the AWS Cyber Accelerator.

Timestamps:
00:29 – Live from the floor: our third RSAC, and it’s bigger than ever
01:31 – RSAC’s rebrand: the “C” is for Community (and we’re here for it)
02:25 – From live events to digital presence: how RSAC is evolving
03:35 – Uber ads from CrowdStrike? B2B finally gets playful
05:20 – Singing trucks & yellow cups: Sweet Security stands out
06:09 – Wiz’s Toy Store & Rubrik’s retro arcade
07:06 – CyberMarketingCon 2025: theme reveals–Marketing Time Machine
07:50 – We launched something new: The Cybersecurity Marketing Practice
09:38 – Talking to founders & VCs: our GTM strategy braintrust
10:23 – Our RSAC Party for Marketers: 220+ guests and community magic
13:42 – CyberMarketingCon 2025: theme reveals–Marketing Time Machine (deep dive)
14:27 – Foundations + Innovations: rebuilding cyber marketing from the ground up
15:44 – Speaker preview: Connor from Amnis & Don Jeter from Torq
18:23 – Enter the Beautiful Booth Awards (by May 20!)

📢 What’s Next

Led by Beth Barach, this half-day workshop is in-person and hands-on. Become a product marketing wiz. Reg. page will be live soon!

December 7–10, 2025 Get your ticket TODAY: cybermarketingconference.com

This year’s theme: Marketing Time Machine. Explore both the foundational skills and innovative tactics every cyber marketer needs now.

Flashy or scrappy, we celebrate smart booths of all sizes. Apply now. 

🔗 Links & Resources:

Cybersecurity Marketing Society

CyberMarketingCon 2025

RSAC

🎧 Follow the Hosts:

Gianna Whitver on LinkedIn

Maria Velasquez on LinkedIn

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing. Join the Cybersecurity Marketing Society on our website, on our main LinkedIn page, our Instagram page, or on our podcast LinkedIn page, and keep up with us on X.

See you in the next episode!