Every CISO I met was drowning in noise - endless asks, alerts, and audits, but starving for time to think. That simple observation became the spark for Axari. I remember one CISO showing me his calendar: 11 meetings in a day, 247 unread messages, and a Slack ping every three minutes. That moment crystallized it for me: visibility wasn’t the issue. Leverage was.
Seeing the Problem Clearly
I’ve spent most of my career in cybersecurity - first at Demisto, pioneering automation for security operations, then at Fylamynt and NetApp, building orchestration platforms for cloud, DevOps, and SREs. Those experiences taught me how powerful automation could be, and how easily it could dehumanize work when not designed for people.
A few years ago, I started spending more time with security leaders - CISOs at fast-growing mid-market companies running security on spreadsheets, Slack messages, and sheer willpower. Their feedback was unanimous:
I have visibility. What I don’t have is leverage.
Their days were defined by firefighting, vendor questionnaires, audit evidence, board decks, RFPs, follow-ups, fifty priorities across a dozen tools. Enterprise CISOs had staff to turn strategy into motion; mid-market CISOs didn’t. Security leadership had matured as a responsibility, but not as a function. And that’s when it clicked: what if security had a Chief of Staff?
A Chief of Staff - But Digital
I remember saying it out loud for the first time on a design-partner call:
How about we give security a Chief of Staff - a digital one?
Not a chatbot. Not another dashboard. A Virtual Chief of Staff that joins like a real hire - connected to your email, Slack, Jira, Notion, and security tools - learning context and helping a CISO operate.
Imagine someone who wakes up before you do and tells you what’s urgent and what’s noise, who’s late and what’s drifting, and what needs your decision before tomorrow’s board meeting. Every recurring task - from vendor reviews to audit prep to QBR reporting - is a mental playbook in disguise. What if those playbooks could run themselves?
Building Real Digital Colleagues
We didn’t start with technology. We started with people. Leaders kept saying:
Dashboards are fine. What I really need is someone who can think, reason, and execute with me.
That became our north star. So we built a team of AI Workers - digital teammates specializing in everyday domains.
- Eve, the Executive Assistant, doesn’t just summarize - she knows who’s waiting on your reply.
- Janice, the Program Manager, doesn’t just track progress - he nudges owners so you don’t have to.
- Rhea and Sage, the Intel and Strategy Leads, don’t just analyze - they spot risks, benchmark progress, and turn complexity into clarity.
They’re not chatbots. They’re digital colleagues. Over time, these workers form a Virtual Chief of Staff, connecting tools, context, and people into one coordinated system of cognitive execution.
From Relief to Leverage
Axari evolves like a human Chief of Staff. First, it provides relief - cutting noise, triaging tasks, and giving CISOs clarity in minutes. Then it helps plan and align teams to focus on what matters most. Finally, it tracks programs, measures ROI, and delivers board-ready outputs.
It starts by saving hours - but ultimately redefines how security leadership operates. We’re not building automation for security teams - we’re building leverage for leaders.
This journey from noise to leverage is a journey from survival to leadership - and that’s the transformation Axari is built to deliver.
The Future of Human - AI Collaboration
Security doesn’t just need more AI. It needs better human-computer interaction. Every CISO said the same thing:
I wish I could just talk to my tools and have them understand.
That’s what we’re building - a world where your digital staff don’t feel like software, but like people you work with. Voice, context, empathy - all woven into execution. Say:
“Eve, prep me for tomorrow’s audit call.” “Janice, show me what’s drifting in my roadmap.” “Chief, summarize what’s changed in our posture since last week.”
Axari is turning that vision of human-AI collaboration into reality, starting with cybersecurity. Security is no longer back-office. It’s a boardroom conversation. CISOs are strategists, operators, and diplomats - though they often work alone.
Our belief is simple: security leaders don’t need more dashboards. They need leverage.
Axari brings calm and clarity back to the job, turning constant reaction into confident leadership. When CISOs can finally think, lead, and breathe, the whole organization becomes safer.
That’s why we started Axari. And there’s so much more to come.
