CyberRisk Alliance Consummates Investment In CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum

Bob Dethlefs Joins CyberRisk Alliance Board as Chairman

Chicago, IL, April 1, 2019 – CyberRisk Alliance, a business intelligence company serving the cybersecurity and information risk management marketplace, today announced it has completed an investment in CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum, a series of regional invitation-only events, founded by Bob Dethlefs and based in Portland, Oregon. Dethlefs also founded Evanta in 2003.

CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum’s mission is to bring together top executives from corporations,
government, healthcare and education to facilitate the exchange of information, best practices and
collaboration between Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), C-suite executives and senior-level security professionals to defend, preserve and protect against cyber risk and enterprise vulnerability. One of the company’s principal goals is to support high risk security decision-making with access to market leading information and intelligence.

The content for each Forum is developed by a distinguished Leadership Board of top security executives from a wide range of industries, all with a unified vested interest in and focus on addressing the most serious cybersecurity threats. The Forums provide a platform for sharing industry leading best practices and innovations, while gaining confidential insights into proven technology solutions by, for and among
cybersecurity leaders including CISOs, Chief Information Officers (CIOs), Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), as well as Heads of Risk, Audit, Compliance and Privacy.

In 2019, CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum will host thirteen events in major cities across the country, including New York, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Portland, Nashville and San Francisco. Its rapid growth plans will yield a twofold increase in the number of events produced in 2020.

This deal marks the second transaction completed by CyberRisk Alliance and follows its recently announced acquisition of InfoSec World Conference and Expo, the leading trade show for the information security industry, along with other cybersecurity events and services.

“CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum offers a unique experience with great access, relevance and insights to the cybersecurity industry. The Forums are positioned to be among the most respected events in the industry, with each carefully selected participant receiving an unrivaled value proposition,” said CyberRisk Alliance chief executive Doug Manoni. “In addition to investing in an exceptional business with extraordinary potential, this transaction brings us into an esteemed partnership with Bob Dethlefs, perhaps the most accomplished professional in the event, peer-to-peer collaboration and training industries. We are thrilled to partner with Bob, and we are privileged to have him join our Board as Chairman. He has an impressive entrepreneurial track record, with inspiring team building skills and a passion to serve this critically important marketplace.”

“We share a vision and strategy to build a company that is unparalleled in its portfolio of services,” said Bob Dethlefs, founder of CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum. “The opportunity to partner with Scott Peters and Doug Manoni and work alongside these accomplished professionals in the high-growth, high-information demand cybersecurity market will be a career highlight.”

Scott Peters, co-founder of Growth Catalyst Partners, said “I’ve known Bob for many years, and I’ve had the honor of representing him as an investment banker in six highly successful transactions. Bob has inimitable vision and ability to build unique service offerings of high value to technology professionals and security providers alike. CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum is poised for rapid growth and is an important strategic addition to CyberRisk Alliance’s portfolio.” Peters added, “I have great confidence in Bob’s ability to contribute significantly to the strategic development and growth of CyberRisk Alliance. The vision and leadership of Bob Dethlefs working alongside of Doug Manoni is an imposing and powerful combination."

About CyberSecurity Collaboration Forum
The Cybersecurity Collaboration Forum provides a safe and trusted environment for unparalleled access,
collaboration and information exchange. With an ever-evolving threat landscape, it is more important than ever to come together to drive collaboration, share ideas and leverage best practices that are essential to defend and protect our collective interests and prepare leaders to secure organizations. The invitation-only Cybersecurity Collaboration Forum fosters a strong peer-to-peer network for CISOs, CIOs, CTOs, Heads of Risk, Audit, Compliance, Privacy and other stakeholders in enterprise, government, healthcare and academia. For more information, visit www.cybersecuritycollaboration.com.

About Bob Dethlefs
Bob Dethlefs is the founder and former CEO of Evanta, and arguably one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the event, peer-to-peer collaboration and trainging industries. Dethlefs led Evanta in three successive transactions, including the 2016 sale of Evanta to The Corporate Executive Board Company, now a subsidiary of Gartner. Under Dethlefs’ leadership, Evanta organized over 200 conferences per year, attracting CXOs from over 86% of Fortune 2000 organizations and organically grew the business with highly competitive margins. In 2014, Dethlefs created the CISO Coalition, a member-only community for CISOs from Fortune 2000 organizations where members came together to share real-time information, insights and best practices to better defend against cyberattacks and cybercrime. The Leadership Board for the CISO Coalition included CISOs from McDonald’s, Aflac, IBM, Intel, Kellogg’s, GM, Ford, PepsiCo, Starbucks, ConocoPhillips, Cargill, Nike, and Delta Airlines. Dethlefs is also the founder and current Chairman of the Professional Development Academy (“PDA”),
a premier online leadership development and mentorship academy featuring General Colin Powell, Marshall Goldsmith and over 160 CXOs from Fortune 1000 organizations among its faculty members. Dethlefs recently reacquired PDA from Gartner in partnership with Growth Catalyst Partners. Prior to founding Evanta, Bob was a key executive involved in building American Show Management before its sale in 1999.

About CyberRisk Alliance
CyberRisk Alliance is a business intelligence company founded through a partnership between Doug Manoni and Growth Catalyst Partners in November 2018, and created to serve the high-growth, rapidly evolving cybersecurity and information risk management marketplace. The company is comprised of a diversified portfolio of business information products and services with a shared mission of informing, educating and training business professionals, while building community and facilitating industry commerce. The company is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy through a combination of organic product development and a series of highly targeted acquisitions and partnerships – bringing together leading brands – and it is led by a collaborative and highly accomplished team of entrepreneurs, operators and investors. For more information, visit www.cyberriskalliance.com.

About Growth Catalyst Partners
Growth Catalyst Partners ("GCP") is a lower-middle market private equity firm focused on information,
marketing and tech-enabled services businesses. GCP’s strategy involves targeting growth segments of
industries and identifying market leading companies with breakout potential. GCP partners with top executives within those industries and provides capital and expertise to the incumbent management teams of the targeted businesses. GCP was founded by veteran private equity investor Jim TenBroek and leading investment banker Scott Peters, who have led hundreds of transactions and successful investments in services businesses for over 20 years. For more information, visit www.growthcatalystpartners.com.