Monica Ward

About Monica Ward

I am a Cybersecurity and Professional Services Executive with 17+ years of experience architecting high-scale offensive security and risk management organizations. With a career built at Deloitte, Rapid7, and Cyderes, I specialize in the intersection of technical excellence and business profitability—transforming complex security programs (ASM/CTEM, AppSec, VM) into scalable, revenue-generating service lines.Strategic Impact & P&L Leadership:My expertise lies in scaling global SaaS and Managed Service organizations during periods of hyper-growth and organizational transition. I don’t just manage security outcomes; I design the presales motions, margin models, and service packaging that allow security programs to act as a business accelerator.Core Competencies:* Executive Leadership: Stabilizing global delivery teams and driving operational rigor during M&A and major pivots.* Revenue Optimization: Partnering with Product, Sales, and Finance to influence roadmaps, accelerate customer adoption, and strengthen enterprise retention.* Full-Spectrum Security: Deep expertise in Attack Surface Management (ASM/CTEM), Application Security, and Vulnerability Management.* Business Growth: Expert in margin modeling, pipeline planning, and engineering \"Time-to-Value\" frameworks for regulated enterprise customers.I am passionate about building world-class customer experiences and high-performance teams that prove cybersecurity is a competitive advantage, not just a defensive necessity.

Experience

1. Director, Attack Surface Management

   Cyderes

   Mar 2025 — Present

   P&L & Operational Oversight: Led a high-impact $5M+ cross-functional organization delivering offensive security and ASM services. Stabilized delivery during major organizational shifts by implementing operational rigor where none existed.• Service Line Transformation: Architected the transition of complex technical programs into scalable, customer-centric service lines. Modernized the ASM/CTEM delivery model to accelerate \"Time-to-Value,\" directly impacting enterprise customer satisfaction and renewal readiness.• Strategic Revenue Partnership: Served as the critical link between Sales and Finance to design service packaging and costing models. Developed the presales motions and margin-sensitive delivery frameworks that supported bookings and revenue planning for Fortune 500 clients.• Crisis & Change Leadership: Navigated global teams through periods of significant volatility, ensuring 100% service continuity for regulated enterprise customers while stabilizing internal team retention.• Product Influence: Partnered with Product Engineering to feed field intelligence back into the roadmap, ensuring the SaaS platform evolved to meet the \"real-world\" needs of enterprise-scale attack surfaces.

Education

• University of Maryland Global Campus

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer Network & Security

  2014 — 2016

• University of Maryland Global Campus

  Master of Science - MS, Digital Forensics & Cyber Investigations

  2016 — 2018