One European cybersecurity company set to be crowned winner of ECSO’s STARtup Award
James Thorpe
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On 2 February, eight European cybersecurity startups will be vying to win ECSO’s coveted STARtup Award. The eight finalists will make their final pitch to an award committee after being nominated over the course of the past year through the Cyber Investor Days initiative (jointly organised by ECSO and its regional project partners). During the two-hour award ceremony, featuring startup pitches and fireside talk by female cybersecurity experts, one of these startups will prove that it is ultimately the most deserving of the STARtup Award.
Once the jury members have been introduced, each startup will then have five minutes to make its own quickfire pitch and three minutes to answer the questions from the jury members. To ensure a rigorous selection process, the Award Jury consists of a knowledgeable and diverse group of cybersecurity experts:
Arnaud Coustilliere, Vice Admiral, Str@t-Algo Consulting, Former General Director, Digital and Information and Communication Systems at the Ministry of the Armed Forces
Laurent Denizot, CEO, Egidium Technologies
Charlotte Graire, Senior Manager – Business Development and Partnerships, Airbus Cybersecurity
Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer, F-Secure
Francois Lavaste, Partner, ACE Management
Anett Madi Nator, President, Women4Cyber Foundation and VP Operations & Strategic Business Development, CyberServices
Willi Mannheims, General Partner, eCapital
Carlos Moreira da Silva, Investment Director, Sonae IM
Pascal Steichen, CEO, SECURITYMADEIN.LU
Jelena Zelenovic Matone, CISO, European Investment Bank
After each company has had a chance to make its case, the jury members will retire to evaluate the pitches according to the provided criteria [namely: scalable, disruptive and innovative solutions, growth business plan, go-to-market strategy, business model, use of proceeds, team profile and pitch performance] and deliberate. During the jury deliberations, a fireside chat will take place between Domitilla Benigni, Chief Operating Officer and Board Member, Elettronica and Caroline Guillaume, Chief Operating Officer, Trust In Soft. After the 30 minutes of panel discussion the winner of the European Cybersecurity STARtup Award will be announced.
The finest European cybersecurity solutions
Each finalist has already demonstrated its excellence and the innovativeness of its solution by being nominated for the Award at one of the Cyber Investor Days events organised by ECSO and its partners. The following eight European cybersecurity companies will now go head to head in order to compete for the STARtup Award and European-wide recognition:
ECSO anticipates this event to be an excellent showcase for all the finalists and the winner in particular to demonstrate the cybersecurity competencies which are being developed in Europe by European solution providers. The event will be broadcast publicly by ECSO via the GoToStage platform and will be available to watch for everyone.
ECSO encourages all members of the cybersecurity community and beyond to attend this exciting awards ceremony, taking place on Tuesday 2 February 2021, 14:00-16:00 CET. To watch the event, simply click the following link at:
https://www.gotostage.com/channel/8662b47c74f24d8ebc593b02e242c0ed.
Behind the European Cybersecurity STARtup Award
The Award is built around a shared belief that European cybersecurity companies delivering ground breaking cybersecurity solutions need recognition and investment support to be able to scale up and develop their business in Europe. The Award leverages ECSO Cyber Investors Days, a well-established cybersecurity business matchmaking event and similar events organised by ECSO’s regional partner organisations to facilitate the local scouting for competitive solutions and create an initiative recognising the most promising European cybersecurity startups and SMEs.
ECSO initiated the European Cybersecurity STARtup Award with the ambition for it to become one of the key European cybersecurity market initiatives, alongside ECSO’s Cyber Investor Days and its recent proposal to create a European Cybersecurity Investment Platform. These initiatives are dedicated to the consolidation of the still highly fragmented European cybersecurity market and the strengthening of its entire cybersecurity ecosystem.
The Award is jointly administered with ECSO’s partnering organisations in this initiative: Brittany Region and its Pôle d’Excellence Cyber, European Competence Centre for Information Technology Security (eurobits e.V.), secunet Security Networks AG, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, SECURITYMADEIN.LU, Sopra Steria, Systematic Paris-Region, L’Alliance pour la Confiance Numérique (ACN) and Women4Cyber.
The event will also be recorded and disseminated afterwards via email and YouTube for those who are unable to participate on the day itself. For any further questions and information, contact ECSO Communications Team at [email protected].
