ThreatDown, the corporate business unit of Malwarebytes, announced recently that it has hired channel veteran Kendra Krause to lead its program. We spoke with Krause about the new role and how she thinks channel partners can grow through security solutions.
Krause joins ThreatDown to extend MDR and other solutions through the channel
Krause has a long career in security-focused channel leadership roles and is now bringing that experience to Threatdown as its new general manager.
Krause previously served as SVP of global channels at Sophos, where she led the company’s transition to a fully channel-first model and drove partner growth across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise segments. She has also held leadership roles at Fortinet, SonicWALL, and WatchGuard.
“Kendra brings deep cybersecurity and channel expertise, along with a proven track record,” said Marcin Kleczynski, founder and CEO of Malwarebytes, in a statement. “She will play a pivotal role in shaping ThreatDown’s future.”
“This is a really exciting opportunity as the company is going through its separation from Malwarebytes to really establish itself as a B2B security player,” Krause said. “It’s also already a channel-first company, and I felt that with my experience in the channel, this was a perfect fit for me to join and really scale that motion.”
The Malwarebytes offering includes everything from end-to-end MDR to email and mobile security, plus DNS filtering, endpoint protection, and more. The company’s OneView platform is built for MSPs who leverage ThreatDown’s portfolio to support their SMB and midmarket clients.
“We’re going to continue to promote what makes us different and what makes us valuable,” Krause said. “Our ease of use, for MSPs and for end users, plus our operational simplicity, and ultimately that we provide a product that works. That combination is what I know partners are looking for in security.”
Why ThreatDown is poised for growth with Krause at the helm
The company’s security solutions are already sold through a channel-first approach, and Krause’s appointment is touted as a signal that ThreatDown plans to further grow through the channel. To Krause, the opportunities ahead are extensive.
“We still need to build brand awareness and strengthen our go-to-market planning. I truly think ThreatDown is a hidden gem amongst the cybersecurity community, and I want to change that,” Krause said.
To achieve this, Krause plans to further align the company with its partners across sales, marketing, and product functions, leveraging what partners need in the market as the ThreatDown brand grows over time.
“I want partners to see that we are serious about the channel, that we’re committed to them, and that we’re sticking with our partners as we grow further up-market,” said Krause. “I take that really seriously. This is their business and their livelihood, and they need to trust us when we say we aren’t going to compete with them.”
Krause also wants to ensure ThreatDown partners are achieving profitability and delivering to their clients the security services they need. The MDR capability, for example, can be entirely run by ThreatDown or deployed in a shared model in which MSPs are brought in to mitigate and resolve issues for their clients.
“Mid-market and SMB customers don’t have the IT staff internally to put multiple people on monitoring threats 24/7, 365 days a year,” Krause said.
Channel territory sales and program refresh: the early priorities on Krause’s to-do list
Krause is new to the role, but certainly not new to how leading channel programs need to operate for partners to feel successful with a company. Among her early priorities are establishing territory teams within the channel sales function and then tackling what she sees as room for improvement in the existing partner program.
While the timeline for that refresh is still in the works, Krause highlights the importance of stronger attention to margins, deal protections, and other resources MSPs need to build a profitable practice with ThreatDown.
“Partners who know me know that I provide a program they can rely on, and I’m committed to building that at ThreatDown,” Krause said.