Cybersecurity Pioneer Kevin Mandia Joins Expel’s Board of Directors

Mandiant founder highlights Expel’s leadership, relentless customer focus, and critical market demand as key reasons for joining the board

Expel, the leading managed detection and response (MDR) provider, today announced cybersecurity industry luminary, Kevin Mandia, has joined its board of directors. The Mandiant founder brings over three decades of security leadership and venture capital expertise to help shepherd Expel into its next phase of growth.

“I believe you need an experienced founder that truly knows security to run a great security company. I met Dave nearly 30 years ago when we were computer crime investigators in the United States Air Force, and we have been committed to cybersecurity ever since. Dave was our first pick at Mandiant to lead our software business, our managed defense business, and much of our go-to-market teams. I witnessed Dave build and scale our business from the ground up with relentless focus on the outcomes for our customers,” said Mandia, speaking about Dave Merkel, co-founder and CEO of Expel. “I believe in Expel's leadership, products, and services, along with its commitment to solving critical security challenges for its customers, and that is what excites me as I join this remarkable team.”

Mandia’s board appointment comes as Expel continues its upward trajectory. Last year, Expel strengthened strategic partnerships with major global players in and around the security space, including Wiz, Visa, and, most recently, modePUSH, a leading incident response firm, to improve joint capabilities that meet a broader range of customer security needs. Expel’s momentum includes 50% year-over-year revenue growth (FY23-FY24) and surpassing $100 million in annual recurring revenue, achieving “centaur status,” as of FY24.

“I’ve been lucky to call Kevin [Mandia] a mentor and a friend for much of my professional life, and I’m honored to have his guidance again—in this official capacity—as we tackle this next chapter,” said Dave Merkel. “The opportunity in MDR is massive, and Expel is uniquely qualified to lead the market. That Kevin is willing to come along for the ride as a board member tells me we’re on the right path.”

As rapidly advancing AI-powered technologies reshape the threat landscape for attackers and defenders alike, Expel remains confident and committed to accelerating its unique approach to cybersecurity. The company’s customer base has grown by 67% since early 2023, and Expel holds an industry-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75—a notoriously unforgiving scale. Expel’s relentless focus on delivering measurable customer outcomes reflects in its impressive metrics:

• A 20-minute mean-time-to-remediate (MTTR)
• An 87% reduction in customers’ MTTR with auto-remediation
• 125+ tech integrations
• 99% of customers say Expel is a brand they trust

These metrics provide Expel customers with the time and peace-of-mind they need to focus on the business priorities that matter most. With comprehensive coverage across cloud, on-prem, identity, network environments, and more, Expel combines skilled analysts with its purpose-built SecOps platform, Expel Workbench™, to augment teams or help develop new ones—meeting customers’ exact needs.

Mandia’s appointment to the board reunites him with Merkel, combining their deep expertise and shared roots in the defense community. This career intersection once again reflects Mandia’s strong belief in Expel’s leadership—including Merkel’s co-founders, Yanek Korff and Justin Bajko, both fellow Mandiant alums and current Expel executives—and its ability to protect organizations against evolving threats.

For exclusive insights directly from Mandia and Merkel on the future of cyber defense, register here for an upcoming webinar on Thursday, October 17 at 11am ET. To learn more about Expel MDR or get in touch with any questions, reach out anytime at expel.com/contact.

Here’s what Expel customers have to say:

“Working with Expel is like putting on noise canceling headphones—granting us the freedom to focus on AstraZeneca's most pressing business priorities, not reams of alerts, as a true extension of our security team. Having long worked with members of Expel’s leadership team, as both a colleague and a customer, I can confidently say I never have to question whether the Expel team is prioritizing our security needs. And knowing Kevin [Mandia] from my years at Mandiant, I know he sees what I do in Expel: an MDR that’s fiercely committed to bettering the lives of its customers through unmatched protection and superior outcomes.”

- Kristina Sisk, Cyber Security Defense Operations Director, AstraZeneca

“Dragos has had a long and successful relationship with Expel, one that’s critical to our ability to achieve our mission to protect the industrial infrastructure that we depend on every day. We see how the threat landscape is evolving, and Dragos and Expel have always been in lock-step in our approach to improving the security postures of our customers. Welcoming Kevin onto Expel’s board adds to the company’s already formidable leadership and advisory team, and further reinforces the crucially important role that MDR plays in modern cybersecurity programs.”

- Robert M. Lee, co-founder and CEO, Dragos

About Expel

Expel is the leading managed detection and response (MDR) provider trusted by some of the world’s most recognizable brands to expel their adversaries, minimize risk, and build security resilience. Expel’s 24/7/365 coverage spans the widest breadth of attack surfaces, including cloud, with 100% transparency. We combine world-class security practitioners and our AI-driven platform, Expel Workbench™, to ingest billions of events monthly and still achieve a 20-minute critical alert MTTR. Expel augments existing programs to help customers maximize their security investments and focus on building trust—with their customers, partners, and employees. For more information, visit our website, check out our blog, or follow us on LinkedIn.

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