Each member of our leadership team brings more than two decades of experience in cybersecurity leadership, consulting, and M&A advisory, combining operator insight with strategic and financial expertise.
Mike Thompson is a senior executive and trusted advisor with more than 30 years of strategic and operational leadership in technology and professional services, including over 20 years in cybersecurity and identity.
He is the Founder and Managing Partner of SME Cybersecurity, advising private equity and venture investors on cybersecurity sector strategy and M&A across North America and Europe, from sector thesis and target sourcing through diligence and post-close value creation.
Through QuantaCyber, where he is Managing Partner, he helps boards and executive teams prepare for the New Triad, the convergence of quantum computing, AI, and cybersecurity, including post-quantum cryptography, crypto-agility, and board-level readiness. He is a Co-Founder of the Tech Titans Quantum Technology Forum and Chair of its Quantum Resilient Security initiative, and a member of the SMU Cyber Advisory Board, helping build North Texas into a national center for quantum and emerging-technology leadership.
Previously, as Chief Growth Officer and Head of Global M&A at iC Consult Group, the Carlyle-backed platform building the world's largest pure-play identity and access management (IAM) services firm, he led the cross-border buy-and-build. He founded and led ICSynergy International for 18 years, an IAM and cybersecurity consultancy he built and sold to The Carlyle Group in 2021. Earlier, Mike held strategy leadership roles at Nortel, Marconi Communications, and Bell Sygma.
Dr. Shaibal Chakrabarty is a highly experienced global technology executive (Ph.D. in Computer Science from Southern Methodist University, 2018). As CTO and Co-Founder at SME Cybersecurity, he leads technology in advisory services.
Prior to this role, Shaibal was at Silicon Valley Bank, leading end-state cybersecurity architecture across multiple programs and driving Federal Reserve cybersecurity (FFIEC) baseline requirements for SVB's Global Security Organization. Before SVB, at AT&T Cybersecurity, he held a portfolio of managed network security services with full P&L responsibility. He teaches cybersecurity graduate classes at SMU and has published jointly with SMU's AT&T Virtualization Center.
Shaibal's Ph.D. research focused on securing IoT-enabled Smart Cities from cyberattack. He launched the Cybersecurity Forum with the Tech Titans, bringing together corporations, academia, and government to form a regional Center of Excellence, and has contributed to US Ignite, a White House Science and Technology policy initiative. Prior to his Ph.D., Shaibal spent 20+ years in global roles at Cisco and Nortel.
Erin is a highly accomplished customer success executive with over 25 years of experience. She has led strategic growth initiatives in numerous Fortune 500 companies, with responsibility for field and partner operations, services, and customer success organizations, and is renowned for building professional services practices and customer success organizations.
As Partner, COO, and Co-Founder at SME Cybersecurity, Erin provides due diligence and integration planning for PE, VC, and investment-banking partners, and plays a pivotal role shaping strategy and organizational models for emerging cybersecurity entrants.
Previously, Erin led Customer Success at Tealium, where she was recruited to build, scale, and lead a world-class Customer Success and Professional Services program. At Okta, she was a senior executive directing regional professional services sales and delivery, overseeing 200+ projects per year. She has held senior leadership roles at Lucent, Varolii, BMC Software, Coinstar, Redbox, and Outerwall.
