NTT Security CEO Matt Gyde Exits After Building Services Giant

April 01, 2021, 02:17 PM EDT

During his 22 months as CEO, Gyde guided NTT Security through its WhiteHat Security buy and a massive integration process, creating a channel security behemoth with $1.6 billion of sales and 3,000 employees.

NTT Security CEO Matt Gyde resigned Wednesday after creating one of the largest security solution provider businesses in the world over the past 15 years.

During his 22 months as CEO, Gyde guided Tokyo-based NTT Security through its $315 million purchase of application security vendor WhiteHat Security as well as the complete integration of security assets within NTT Data, Dimension Data, NTT Communications, Solutionary, Earthwave and others into a single channel security behemoth with $1.6 billion of revenue and 3,000 employees across 58 countries.

“I thought it was time for the organization to have some different eyes in the security business,” Gyde told CRN. “I felt as if I had done what I could do for the organization, and I felt it was time for something new.”

Gyde spent 15 years at the NTT family of companies, including nearly six leading the security business for NTT subsidiary Dimension Data, No. 13 on the 2019 CRN Solution Provider 500, before ascending to the NTT Security CEO role in June 2019. Gyde’s departure coincides with the exit of Jason Goodall, who led Dimension Data and then NTT Ltd for some five years before handing the reins over to Abhijit Dubey.

Gyde helped many of the assets within NTT Security shift from a resale focus to doing more consulting and managed services work. He also helped the business evolve from a perimeter-centric model of securing infrastructure to a more holistic approach of securing users, devices, applications, data and cloud platforms, taking advantage of the integrations as well as WhiteHat’s wisdom around applications.

NTT Ltd didn’t respond to CRN questions about who will replace Gyde as leader of the conglomerate’s security practice. Gyde said his departure from NTT was fully voluntary and had been in the works for a number of months following his work integrating the assets and driving robust growth in the business.

Consultancies, systems integrators and MSSPs alike are facing increased competition from cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and GoDaddy who realize they need to play in the security market as well, Gyde said. He’d like to see his successor at NTT Security make a bigger push to deliver services across the cloud providers.

“I’ve put in 15 years,” Gyde said. “It was time for somebody new to put eyes on it and maybe take it in a different direction.”

Going forward, Gyde said he’s most interested in an operational leadership position at an MSSP, service provider, or some other type of business focused on cybersecurity. Gyde said he’d also very much like to sit on the boards of reasonably early stage cybersecurity startups and help them come up in the space.

But for now, Gyde said he’s looking to take some time off, relax, and enjoy spring break with his children before searching more actively for future opportunities.

“It’s been an amazing 15 years, and I’ve worked with amazing people,” Gyde said. “I just thought it was time for me to do something different and maybe look at a smaller organization.”