On January 29th, 2025 Cobalt named the appointment of Gunter Ollmann as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With rich and diverse experience in cybersecurity innovation, Ollmann will lead Cobalt's technology and services strategy, delivering AI-enabled offensive security solutions coupled with unmatched human ingenuity. 

About Gunter 

Gunter’s career is marked by an impressive blend of leadership, innovation, and groundbreaking contributions to the cybersecurity industry. Before joining Cobalt, Gunter held prominent roles that shaped the future of cybersecurity, including:

• Chief Security Officer at Vectra Networks, where he provided strategic guidance in defending organizations against advanced threats.
• Chief Technology Officer at IOActive and Devo, leading product innovation and strategy to tackle evolving cyber risks.
• CSO for Microsoft’s Cloud and AI Security division, where he incubated and launched multiple commercial products and services while protecting the world’s largest cloud applications and infrastructure.

Gunter’s work has been instrumental in countering advanced cyber threats and safeguarding organizations across industries, from government to enterprise. His visionary approach and deep expertise have paved the way for transformative advancements in cybersecurity.

At Cobalt, we’re excited to see how Gunter’s leadership and innovative mindset will elevate our mission to secure modern organizations and drive impactful change across the industry.

What’s Next?

As CTO, Ollmann will oversee the evolution of Cobalt’s technology platform, including its industry-leading Cobalt Core community of pentesters and cybersecurity experts. His focus will include scaling AI capabilities and threat intelligence to become a distinctive asset in comprehensive offensive security programs for organizations, enhancing platform capabilities, and addressing the ever-evolving threat landscape to meet customers' dynamic needs.

Q&A with Gunter 

What are you most excited about for the future of Cobalt?

I am most excited about the changes we are seeing in the industry. The industry is rapidly maturing in a direction that plays to Cobalt’s historic strengths - the need to access and use the world’s most skilled and most experienced offensive cybersecurity professionals. 

The advancement and adoption of AI is going to radically change the traditional security consulting industry. Vulnerability discovery tooling is getting smarter and is already surpassing the “basic” compliance side of pentesting. Human experience and true expertise is going to be more valuable and have a higher impact on business going forward.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in your professional career? 

For a long time, my biggest challenge and worry has been “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up”. I’ve always followed my nose - seeking out new technology and new business areas and wanting to learn as much as I can while working with interesting people on interesting problems - never quite knowing where it’ll lead. It’s only been the last few years that I’ve truly become comfortable with not knowing and have embraced it.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

I love to discover new places. Where and when I can, I love to travel. I’ve been lucky to have visited 116 countries - the latest addition was Peru - and worked (in some capacity) in half of them, but don’t ask me what my favorite one is. I’ve accumulated many memorable travel stories along the way.

I also love to cook. In terms of cooking, I grew up in a household heavily influenced by Indonesian and Malay foods, so I tend to cook a lot of spicy food and lately have been leveling up my Malaysian chicken rendang and Thai yellow curry recipes.

What show have you been binge-watching recently?

While I have been traveling, I have binge watching Killing Eve with Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh. When I am at home, one of my favorite pastimes with my wife is to watch The Great British Bake Off together. 

What's Next for Gunter 

As AI reshapes the security landscape, organizations must adapt their frameworks to stay resilient. While strong security controls cover 90% of AI risks, addressing the final 10% is critical. In this executive briefing, Gunter Ollmann, CTO at Cobalt, will share strategies for securing large language models, managing AI-specific risks, and navigating emerging threats. This session goes beyond insights—it’s an open discussion designed to foster meaningful conversations and actionable takeaways. Reserve your spot today.