Indian American cybersecurity expert Sonali Shah appointed CEO of Cobalt

Sonali Shah takes the helm at Cobalt to drive innovation and growth in the Pentest as a Service sector, following a record-breaking year.

(The American Bazaar originally published this post.)

Cobalt, a leader in the Pentest as a Service (PtaaS) sector and a provider of advanced offensive security solutions, has appointed Indian American Sonali Shah as its new Chief Executive Officer, the company announced on Thursday. Shah, a seasoned cybersecurity executive and member of Cobalt’s board, steps into her new role during a period of significant growth and innovation for the firm.

Hailing from Potomac, MD, and currently residing in Boston, Shah brings over two decades of experience in the tech industry, notably in scaling high-growth technology firms. A former investment banker with Credit Suisse, her prior roles include pioneering work at Bitsight Security Ratings, where she developed the first cybersecurity risk rating platform, and significant contributions to evolving application security technologies at Veracode and Invicti.

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“Cobalt is uniquely positioned to help enterprises manage the risk of their expanding attack surfaces with efficient and continuous offensive security programs,” Shah stated. “I am excited to work with Cobalt’s excellent team to usher in the next phase of the company’s growth—one that will focus relentlessly on providing maximum value to customers as their offensive security needs continue to evolve.”

Shah succeeds Chris Manton-Jones, who has led Cobalt since April 2022. Under his leadership, the company expanded into new areas of offensive security, achieving significant growth in revenue and profitability.

Gajan Rajanathan, Partner at Highland Europe and a member of Cobalt’s board, praised Shah’s strategic vision and deep expertise in cybersecurity as critical for Cobalt’s future. “Sonali brings the right experience to this team,” Rajanathan remarked. “Our entire board looks forward to working with her, and we thank Chris for his contributions to Cobalt.”

Shah, who earned her MBA from the Wharton School and a Master’s in Economics from the London School of Economics, is also a Board member at Shibumi and an advisor on the Board of ThreatX. She is passionate about supporting educational non-profits through her involvement with Hestia and the GreenLight Fund and offers guidance to entrepreneurs through Springboard Enterprises and Astia.

“I am thrilled to join the amazing team at Cobalt,” she said. “As the company that pioneered PtaaS and is revolutionizing the field of offensive security testing, Cobalt enables companies of all sizes to quickly and efficiently reduce risk. I look forward to bringing my cybersecurity knowledge and operational experience to Cobalt, contributing to its journey, and exploring new frontiers together.”