Ellie Lancaster joins as Head of People and Culture

CovertSwarm, the leading global red team and cybersecurity solution provider, has announced the hire of Ellie Lancaster, who joins as the company’s new Head of People and Culture.

With over two decades of experience working in and leading HR teams across multiple sectors, Ellie joins the organization to continue developing the industry-leading culture CovertSwarm is being recognized for, as the company continues to rapidly grow.

Her previous role as Head of People and Places at Sero, a company with a mission to support customers in achieving net zero homes, saw her introduce the HR function and processes while growing the team. Before that, she advised and supported the global leadership team at Alert Logic, managing the company’s UK offices across London, Cardiff, and Belfast.

Speaking about her new role, Ellie said: “My mission is to support CovertSwarm’s growth, but also a focus on continuing to build on the already exceptional culture by maintaining and introducing support for our people.

“My key focus will be to introduce a People and Culture strategy which focuses on the lifecycle of our employees, including implementing clear, consistent, internal processes for recruitment and onboarding, through to performance and development, whilst ensuring our culture is maintained at the heart of everything we do, as we continue to scale.”

Anders Reeves, CEO at CovertSwarm, added: “Ellie’s deep understanding of HR strategies and her experience in fostering cohesive teams align perfectly with our mission at CovertSwarm. Her passion for cultivating a positive work environment makes her an invaluable addition to the leadership team as we scale our operations further. 

“Ellie’s strategic vision and focus on nurturing our company culture will play a vital role in propelling us toward further success and align seamlessly with our overarching growth strategy. We’re very excited to have her on board.”

CovertSwarm’s latest senior hire is the sixth of the year. The company announced that Neil Jeffries, Ronan McCrory, and Santi Quintana had joined as Finance Director, Head of Product, and Head of Marketing respectively in January and that Louis Blackburn and Rishikesh Bhide had joined as Operations Director and Head of Engineering in February.

The company’s latest senior hire coincides with CovertSwarm’s ongoing efforts to disrupt the conventional cybersecurity industry, changing the paradigm behind pen testing towards a constant cyber attack method offered via a subscription. Following a highly successful 2023, the London-based company is set to expand its operations into North America.

During 2023, CovertSwarm announced it had become the youngest organization to join the Beech Tree Private Equity portfolio after receiving investment earlier this year (ranging between £10 million – £30 million), enabling its ambitious organic growth strategy and accelerating the development of its proprietary CovertSwarm Portal.