In this OPSWAT Employee Spotlight, get to know Tom Mullen, SVP of Business Development, and how he’s grown with the organization over the last 17 years.
How did you begin your career in the cybersecurity industry?
I started my cybersecurity career in 2002 at GreenBorder, an endpoint security vendor. While there I met Benny Czarny who had recently founded OPSWAT and was providing consulting services to GreenBorder. In 2004 Benny convinced me to start working for OPSWAT to manage licensing of OESIS Framework SDK, then a brand-new product for OPSWAT.
How long have you been with OPSWAT, and what is your role?
I’ve been with OPSWAT for 17 years. As the SVP of Business Development, my role is focused on creating and maintaining relationships with other cybersecurity vendors which typically fall into the following areas:
1. OEM Licensing-in of vendor IP and SDKs (e.g., antimalware engines for MetaDefender's Metascan module)
2. OEM Licensing-out of OPSWAT IP and SDKs (e.g., OESIS Framework SDK to Secure Access and endpoint security vendors)
3. Joint Solution Alliances on API or protocol-based integrations (e.g., with VMware based on the MetaDefender Access API and with F5 Networks based on both vendors supporting the ICAP protocol).
4. Corporate Development, including negotiating and implementing our recent acquisitions of Bayshore Networks (an OT security products company) and of Impulse, LLC (a Secure Access products company) in late 2019.
What do you like the most about working at OPSWAT?
I love that OPSWAT protects organizations that protect our way of life, from protecting the U.S. government and those of allied nations to protecting organizations that ensure that customers have safe drinking water, reliable power for their homes and business, accurate and trustworthy financial services, etc.
How has the company changed since you first started?
It has grown massively. When I joined OPSWAT in 2004 there were 4 employees working on a single product, OESIS Framework SDK, in a small office located in San Francisco. Now, OPSWAT has 500 employees working from over 10 office locations developing, marketing, selling, supporting and training customers and partners on 17 products!
What is the best career lesson you’ve learned at OPSWAT?
Be patient and courteous. Someone who is your prime competitor today may be your valued partner, customer, or colleague tomorrow.
What has been your favorite project to work on at OPSWAT?
Wow. That is a tough question given that I've worked on a lot of projects over the years. Some of the most satisfying recent projects recently include the transaction with Impulse which has turned Tampa into our new corporate headquarters, our alliance with VMware which has generated a considerable number of MetaDefender Access customer accounts and the recently completed transaction with Bayshore Networks which has broadened our portfolio of solutions for organizations seeking to secure assets and processes associated with Levels 1 through 3 of the Purdue Reference Architecture. And I still love OESIS Framework SDK! To me, OESIS has been foundational. It helped OPSWAT develop relationships with endpoint security vendors which have matured into licensing-in relationships for multi-scanning offerings available in the MetaDefender product line. And, MetaDefender Access itself, a Secure Access Product, is powered in part by using OESIS Framework SDK.
If you could describe OPSWAT in one word, what would it be?
Tenacious.
OPSWAT simply won't quit on a problem. When faced with one, we work it, we work it and work it some more until we solve it.
Interested in learning more about career opportunities? Visit our careers page or contact one of our critical infrastructure cybersecurity experts today.
