Austin, Texas Metropolitan Area
A trailblazer in cybersecurity, Will Gragido is celebrated for his strategic acumen and transformative leadership style. With a proven track record in driving innovation, operational excellence, and market leadership, Will has cemented his reputation as a trusted authority in the industry. Pioneering Excellence as Chief Product Officer At NetWitness, Will spearheaded the redefinition of NetWitness' product strategy and roadmap capitalizing on novel innovation in network-based cybersecurity, applied data science, enhanced by cutting-edge threat intelligence from the FirstWatch Organization. This accomplishment reinforced NetWitness's global prominence in Network Detection and Response (NDR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). Will’s fusion of strategy and technology continues to define industry standards. Innovative Leadership Across Roles Will’s career highlights include shaping intelligence-driven solutions and fostering cultures of innovation at companies like TippingPoint, Digital Guardian, RSA NetWitness, and startups such as Cassandra Security, Digital Shadows, HYAS, and Prevailion. His expertise in operationalizing intelligence has delivered measurable success and cultivated lasting organizational growth. Published Thought Leader Renowned for his insights, Will contributes to the cybersecurity dialogue through authorship of books, contributions to publications, keynotes, and media engagements. His ability to demystify complex challenges positions him as an indispensable voice at the intersection of technology, strategy, and innovation. Shaping the Future Against Emerging Threats With AI and quantum computing reshaping the landscape, Will champions adaptive solutions to address novel risks. His vision prioritizes resilience, innovation, and the protection of critical systems, setting the benchmark for forward-thinking strategies. Why Partner with Will Gragido? Will’s exceptional ability to inspire collaboration, deliver results, and foster inclusive cultures makes him a unique leader in the evolving cybersecurity arena. For organizations seeking measurable impact and sustained success, Will represents an unparalleled opportunity.
CEO & Co‑Founder | Salience Cybersecurity, Inc. At Salience Cybersecurity, we’re redefining the edge of digital defense. Our mission is to deliver the industry’s first prevention‑first security model and cognitive defense engine—purpose‑built to detect, disrupt, and outpace AI‑driven threats in real time. Designed to operate at—or beyond—the velocity of adversarial innovation, our platform ensures cybersecurity evolves with the same intelligence, precision, and foresight as the threats it’s built to stop.
In my current role at NetWitness, my responsibilities as Chief Intelligence Officer see me lead a variety of initiatives directly while playing a trusted advisory role in many other ancillary and tertiary ones that span the breadth of the business on a cross departmental basis. My primary areas of focus include those related to enhancing and growing the organization’s prowess and expertise in the intersectional domains of intelligence tradecraft and execution with an explicit charter and directive to lead NetWitness into a new era of intelligence driven detection and outcomes that both sets the organization apart and ahead of its competitors while providing the highest degree of value possible to its customers, aiding them in remaining informed and ahead of known and emerging threats to the best of their abilities. As a result, all areas related to threat research and intelligence analysis (adhering to the intelligence lifecyle), all tradecraft, and all execution of the along with the strategy that powers and defines it, fall under my area of responsibility. This includes all intelligence driven derivative work products – human and machine readable/consumable, in addition to much more. Furthermore, my charter extends and includes innovation in respect and relation to the intersection of threat intelligence research and analysis and applied data science, resulting in innovative, industry-changing advancements within the NetWitness FirstWatch Threat Intelligence Organization and beyond.
At Prevailion, tasked with infusing a mixture of security strategy, product management & innovation, and leadership resulting in advancements and streamlining of the organization messaging its value proposition, and competitive landscape differentiation. This work resulted in the business advancing and ultimately being awarded a Gartner Cool Vendor Award. I was promoted from Director of Security Strategy to Principal Security Strategist and then ultimately to Chief Technology Officer where I focused my energies on streamlining and structuring the technical side of the business, with the development & engineering, threat intelligence, and product management departments respectively. Later, I was asked to take on strategy in a full-time capacity where my time was spent building out net new parts of the organization in collaboration with the CEO and VP of Marketing driving the business forward.
Chief Technology Officer at Prevailion, Inc.
At [redacted], I was responsible for providing leadership, guidance, expertise, revenue growth, and mentoring within and outside the firm. My responsibilities included but were not limited to leading engagements, managing teams, and delivering projects related to risk management-driven cybersecurity projects to meet client needs and demands. This work centered on working with CISOs and executive leadership at our clients to aid them in addressing real threats to their businesses and livelihoods to reduce their risk exposure and attack surfaces to maintain a reasonable risk posture.
At Hyas my role included the business development, strategic partnerships & alliances, and product management. During this time my roles included streamlining and maturing the CTO’s vision for the core technology and new areas of innovation while formalizing approaches to secure product development and product management, go-to-market, readiness, competitive intelligence. Provided sales, marketing, and public relations support in the press and media.