Get to Know: Tracy Reinhold, Vice President and Chief Security Officer
Joined Everbridge
April 2018
Location
Remote (Asheville, NC)
What do you do at Everbridge?
My role is a bit different from a traditional chief security officer, or CSO, who is usually responsible primarily for mitigation of threats against the company and its people. I split my time between an external-facing role, as an advocate for Everbridge with CSOs around the world, and an internal-facing role, helping our employees develop relationships with potential clients as we grow.
Externally, I’m working with folks who have a similar background to mine, helping them understand the value of this platform — and of innovation and creative thinking in corporate security. Technology is radically changing the face of this field, and as the old adage goes, “What got you here is not going to get you there.” But a lot of people are reticent to embrace new tools they don’t understand. I’m holding CSO roundtables all over the country to talk about challenges and pain points, and also to share my own experience navigating these changes using the tools we offer at Everbridge.
Internally, my role is really just to help the team get where it needs to go. As we move from a single product to a suite with a more integrated approach to security, I’m educating our team members on the security landscape and helping them develop confidence in this space. I manage no one — it’s more about mentorship. It’s a fun job.
What were you doing before you joined Everbridge?
I served in the Marine Corps for 10 years and joined the FBI in 1990. I worked primarily on crime and gangs at first, but after 9/11, I moved to national security. Robert Mueller was the director at the time, and working for him was one of the highlights of my career. He tapped me to head the Intelligence branch, and eventually I served as deputy for national security.
The FBI was a great ride. It checked all the boxes for me. The bureau was the great equalizer — all that mattered was whether you could do the job. The best part for me was the chance to influence others as they moved up in the organization and to help them understand how to be successful.
“I manage no one — it’s more about mentorship.”
I retired from the FBI in 2012 and took a job as global VP for Wal-Mart, handling investigations of things like cyber violations and corruption, and building teams all over the world. After that, I spent three years as the first CSO at Fannie Mae, which was a unique opportunity.
Why did you decide to join this company?
Everbridge was one of our vendors at Fannie Mae, and I was impressed with the technology and approach. The opportunity to help build something new also appealed to me. While this is a great global software company, we’re just getting into the security space.
Working remotely was a big draw, too. My wife and I live in Asheville, North Carolina, and we love the outdoors — hiking, kayaking, biking. We didn’t want to move. Jaime, the CEO, said, “It doesn’t matter to us where you are. What matters is your engagement, your enthusiasm, and your ability to add value to our mission.”
That mission, of keeping people safe, really resonated with me. And everyone I talked to on the team, whether it was a brand-new business development associate or a senior executive — said the mission resonated with them, too. Passion is one of our core company values, and there’s this sense that we’re doing more than selling software. During the hurricane in Florida, for example, the team got a bunch of municipalities on the platform within three hours. They weren’t customers, but Everbridge was the only company that could help them, so we did. That’s what truly motivates people here — the ability to impact people’s lives and safety.
How does your role at Everbridge compare to working in the public sector?
The transition from government can be tough for a lot of people. The private sector is less about directing and more about influencing. Especially in a mentorship role like this one, I want people to be open with me and to feel comfortable asking lots of questions. It helps that I don’t have direct reports: while I’m an officer of the company, I’m not their officer. But the real secret to my success is sweater vests! You just cannot look intimidating in a sweater vest.
“Everbridge is going to be a game-changer in the security space. The ability to marry threat analytics with real-time visualization is really exciting.”
Of course, there’s more to it than that. I really had to reinvent the way I communicated when I left the FBI. Back then, if I needed five people at Bagram Air Base the next morning, it just got done. In corporate America, there’s more subtlety. There’s more explaining why something is important. Nuance becomes key.
Part of it is eating a little humble pie. You adapt to your environment rather than drive it, and you have to reject some of what you learn in government — the idea that kindness and compromise are weaknesses. You need to learn the company and the culture first. The opportunities come from understanding how you can add value.
What are you excited about in Everbridge’s future?
One exciting challenge is protecting the company itself as we continue to grow and acquire holdings overseas. Part of my job is to help develop an enterprise security strategy for both Everbridge and our customers. To be resilient in the face of IT interruptions and country dysfunctions, we need to build infrastructure that allows us to be proactive — to see around those corners and identify and mitigate those risks.
“Passion is one of our core company values, and there’s this sense that we’re doing more than selling software.”
More broadly, I think Everbridge is going to be a game-changer in the security space. The ability to marry threat analytics with real-time visualization is really exciting. Think about the difference we can make for a company with supply chain operations around the world. If a geopolitical issue in Myanmar is going to impact their work, they can know that ahead of time and adjust so the customer doesn’t experience any pain. It’s phenomenal. That visibility and forward-looking approach are what’s missing in today’s security world, and the platform we are putting together provides it.
