Patrick Dennis, the new CEO at Seattle-based ExtraHop, believes the cybersecurity company can reach new heights.
Dennis said the company could double its revenue over time, and the headcount, which currently stands at about 500, could grow at the same pace. Part of ExtraHop's growth involves expansion to places like Europe and Asia, and although the company will likely need new offices elsewhere to accommodate its planned growth, Seattle will remain the headquarters.
"Until somebody sends me the memo, it's always going to be the HQ," Dennis said. "There's a ton of density of execs there. You can imagine if we're going to expand our international footprint, maybe there's international leaders that wind up in international locations, but the headquarters of the company is Seattle. There will continue to be investment in Seattle."
Dennis added that ExtraHop's existing international footprint is small but expanding quickly and seeing positive results. He said the company will pick specific countries and be thoughtful about its international expansion, making sure the company sees success in those markets before launching somewhere else.
As for cities that could make a good fit for new offices, Dennis himself is based in Denver and said the company is deciding whether to open a location there. Boston and Washington, D.C., also have a strong cybersecurity presence, he said.
ExtraHop, founded in 2007, specializes in network detection and response, a subset of cybersecurity that helps clients find bad actors on their networks. Jesse Rothstein, the company's chief technology officer, and Raja Mukerji, the chief customer officer, founded the company and were previously senior architects at F5 Networks.
Private equity firms Bain Capital Private Equity and Crosspoint Capital Partners acquired ExtraHop for $900 million in July. Arif Kareem, who served as ExtraHop's CEO from 2016 until this month, retired in conjunction with Dennis' appointment. Dennis said there was no drama in the switch, and Kareem was simply ready to do other things in life.
"I aspire to reach the point where I can do the same thing at that stage of my career, too," Dennis said.
Prior to joining ExtraHop, Dennis had spent time as CEO of the software companies Alvaria and Guidance Software. He also worked as an operating executive at Vector Capital. Dennis said he had been in touch with Bain Capital and wanted to work with the firm for a while.
Rothstein previously told the Business Journal ExtraHop was still considering an initial public offering despite the acquisition. Dennis said the focus is on building a strong company and the liquidity options will take care of themselves.
"Markets do things, and I don't control them," Dennis said. "What I can do is, working with Jesse and Raja and the rest of the team, we can build an amazing company."
