Listen to this articleWe recently had the opportunity to interview Michael Mosunic, the co-founder and CEO of Wolf Hill Group, a boutique recruiting firm focused on the cybersecurity industry.
Q: Tell us how your career path led you to your co-founding Wolf Hill Group.
A: I began executive recruiting in 2001. Initially, my focus was on public relations, and from there I moved into diagnostic laboratory testing. I served as Partner and Chief Operating Officer for five years at Slone Partners, where our focus was initially on diagnostic laboratory testing, and later began moving into life sciences.
After recapitalizing a company backed by venture capital and selling it to the industry leader, I managed sales for the western division of the third largest laboratory in the United States. But I was constantly feeling the itch to get back into executive recruiting, so in 2019 I made the decision to partner with Slone Partners to start Wolf Hill Group which is focused exclusively on cybersecurity.
Q: What attracts you to executive recruiting?
A: Executive recruiting is an extremely exciting and vibrant industry, particularly right now. I enjoy working with executives on new opportunities and helping companies identify talent by going far beyond just the task-relevant experience listed on a resume. There is so much more to take into account when identifying and recruiting people for top leadership positions in cybersecurity. That is at the essence of what we are doing at Wolf Hill Group, and I am very excited that we are part of a global challenge that impacts everyone in every sector.
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Q: Why did you choose to focus your company’s business on cybersecurity?
A: As I mentioned, cybersecurity is a serious global challenge that borders on a crisis. U.S. CEO’s rank it as their #1 external concern for 2019, according to the 2019 Conference Board Annual Survey and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon. You need to think about it in terms of an insurance policy – cybersecurity is absolutely essential for every company, government agency, and every other organization. Without that safety net, they are extremely vulnerable.
Fortune 500 companies have been fighting cybercriminals for quite some time, but small to mid-size companies have a lot of catching up to do and, to complicate matters, there is a talent shortage in the industry. Essentially, the industry’s growth is outpacing the number of experienced cybersecurity experts. I saw a clear opportunity for an executive search firm to help fill the talent gap in the industry through strategic planning and processes that have been refined over the past 20 years at Slone Partners. I also see this as an opportunity to serve a greater purpose – to help fend off the cybercriminals who are a threat to every company in every sector.
Q: What are the most difficult challenges facing cybersecurity leaders across various sectors?
A: Trying to keep up with cybercriminals is extremely challenging. Ask almost any Chief Information Security Officer and he or she will tell you that the job is 24/7 as cybercriminals are constantly trying to come up with new ways to breach their security. The bad guys are getting more and more aggressive in areas like ransomware, which we are even beginning to see in rural areas of the country. And, with the talent shortage I mentioned earlier, there just aren’t enough experienced people nor is there enough money to go around to protect every company 100 percent of the time.
So, cybersecurity becomes a responsibility of every employee and it has to become part of the culture in today’s business world. And cybersecurity is not just an IT function. Many progressive companies recognize that it is a critical part of their infrastructure so they have their Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) reporting directly to their CEOs as opposed to the traditional model where they would have reported to the CIO.
Q: What industries are particularly vulnerable to cybercrime?
A: Healthcare and finance are the sectors that cybercriminals are particularly focused on, but in reality, every company across every sector is impacted. It is not a question of will you be hacked; it’s a question of when you will be hacked. For small to mid-size companies, this is a new challenge that they’re struggling to deal with. Cybercriminals will take the path of least resistance, so even smaller companies in rural areas are vulnerable if they don’t keep up in their efforts to defend themselves.
That being said, companies, government agencies, and other organizations are now acknowledging the need to address cybersecurity threats. The number of Managed Security System Providers (MSSPs) is growing, and more and more experienced cybersecurity executives are going out on their own to consult. In addition, universities across the country are ramping up their cybersecurity programs to help train the next generation of cybersecurity leaders.
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Q: What types of skills, experience, and character traits do you look for when recruiting cybersecurity leaders?
A: At Wolf Hill Group, we look to recruit strong, passionate leaders who are focused and driven. Experienced developers and proven business leaders are very much in demand in cybersecurity, but it’s the ones who bring passion to work every day who really make the difference.
Q: How do you hope to differentiate Wolf Hill Group from other firms in the same line of business?
A: Our search strategies at Wolf Hill Group are unique and set us apart from our competitors. We are dedicated to doing quality work, aligned with our clients’ needs, recognizing and respecting their specific mission, vision, and values. The second thing that separates us from our competition is our commitment to fully understanding our clients’ culture, so that becomes an integral part of our processes when interviewing candidates. We firmly believe that the ideal candidate must not only have the right skills and qualifications, but must also be the right culture fit with our client. We are not just a search firm but a strategic partner with our clients.
Aside from these important core values and internal culture, the processes which have been refined over the past 20 years at Slone Partners also set us apart from our competitors. I can’t give away the secret recipe, but I can tell you our clients understand the value that we bring – they are partnering with the best cybersecurity search firm committed to finding them the best candidates in a market where they cannot afford to fail. Our network of cybersecurity leaders at Wolf Hill Group is unique in its breadth and depth, and that is critical in an industry where the pool of available talent is so limited.
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