Searchlight Cyber has promoted Michael Gianarakis to Chief Executive Officer as the company advances into its next growth phase. Gianarakis, previously Chief Product Officer and co-founder/CEO of acquired Assetnote, brings deep expertise in Preemptive Threat Exposure Management (PTEM). Co-founder and outgoing CEO Ben Jones will transition to a strategic advisor and board member role while retaining significant shareholding.
Searchlight Cyber announced the appointment of Michael Gianarakis as Chief Executive Officer, positioning the company for accelerated growth in the Preemptive Threat Exposure Management (PTEM) space. Gianarakis assumes the role after serving as Chief Product Officer for the past year, during which he played a pivotal role in refining and expanding the company’s product offerings. His promotion follows the successful integration of Assetnote, the company he co-founded and led as CEO until its acquisition by Searchlight in January 2025.
Dhruva Kaul, Managing Director and Board Member at Eterna Growth Partners, expressed confidence in the move: “We’re thrilled to partner with Michael as he steps into the CEO role. He brings significant industry expertise, long-standing leadership experience and clarity of vision, and has made significant contributions to date as Chief Product Officer. Since our investment in early 2024, Searchlight has made tremendous progress, and we’re excited to continue that trajectory with Michael at the helm.”
Gianarakis is widely regarded as a thought leader in Preemptive Threat Exposure Management, with a proven history of developing cybersecurity solutions that deliver tangible security outcomes for global organizations. His leadership at Assetnote established him as an expert in identifying and mitigating external attack surface risks before exploitation occurs. Since joining Searchlight, he has helped unify attack surface management, dark web intelligence, and prioritized risk management into a cohesive platform that helps security teams focus on high-impact threats amid overwhelming noise.
Reflecting on his new role, Gianarakis stated: “When we decided to join forces with Searchlight last year, we knew we could build something truly special – a platform with highly differentiated products, deep technical capability, and a team that delivers real security outcomes. Over the past year, I’ve seen that momentum up close, and I’m excited to lead the next phase of growth. Our focus now is simple - keep strengthening our products, increase the value we deliver to our customers and help organizations make more confident security decisions.”
Outgoing CEO and co-founder Ben Jones will step away from day-to-day responsibilities but continue contributing as a strategic advisor and board member. Jones highlighted the company’s achievements and the strategic timing of the transition: “Leading Searchlight has been the privilege of my career. We’ve grown significantly in recent years and built a company with real momentum on a strong foundation. This is the right moment for a new chapter, and Michael has the right skills and experience to lead Searchlight through its next growth stage. I’m looking forward to supporting Michael as a strategic advisor and continued board member as we keep building on the progress we’ve made.”
Searchlight Cyber’s PTEM platform enables organizations to proactively detect exposures, gather dark web intelligence, and prioritize actionable threats before adversaries can exploit them. Trusted by major enterprises, government agencies, law enforcement, and leading managed security service providers, the solution helps security teams separate critical risks from background noise in an increasingly complex threat landscape.
Gianarakis’s appointment reinforces Searchlight’s commitment to innovation and customer value as the company scales its mission to prevent criminal exploitation and empower organizations with confident, preemptive security decision-making.
About Searchlight
Searchlight Cyber was founded in 2017 with a mission to stop criminals from acting with impunity. With its pioneering Preemptive Threat Exposure Management (PTEM) offering, Searchlight helps organizations identify exposures and neutralize threats before attacks begin. Searchlight unifies leading Attack Surface Management, dark web intelligence, and risk management tools to help organizations separate the signal from the noise and prioritize the threats that matter. It is used by some of the world’s largest enterprises, government and law enforcement agencies, and the managed security service providers at the forefront of protecting customers from external threats.
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