Venture firm Team8 announced this week that Tim Brown, a former SolarWinds executive widely known in the cybersecurity industry, has joined the firm as chief information security officer in residence.
Team8 said Brown will help lead its CISO Village, a global community of senior security executives, and expand the firm’s cybersecurity efforts across venture creation, investment and support for startups building new security technologies.
Brown joined SolarWinds in 2017 and played a key role in the company’s response to the 2020 SUNBURST cyberattack, one of the most significant breaches in recent years. He has since become a prominent voice on the evolving role of chief information security officers, particularly as cybersecurity has become a central business risk.
The company said Brown’s appointment comes after the formal conclusion of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement action related to the SolarWinds breach.
In his new role, Brown will work with Team8’s investment and company-building teams to identify emerging enterprise security needs, validate products with industry leaders and advise early-stage startups from initial concept through growth. His focus will include areas such as artificial intelligence-driven security operations, vulnerability management and defenses against increasingly complex cyber threats.
Brown will also play a role in shaping programming and collaboration within the CISO Village, which brings together hundreds of global security leaders to share information on emerging threats and support cybersecurity entrepreneurs.
“Cybersecurity is entering another major evolution driven by AI, and the CISO community is navigating an era where resilience and trust are nonnegotiable,” Brown said in a statement. “I’m excited to help founders build what CISOs truly need.”
Team8, which manages about $1.5 billion in assets, invests in companies focused on cybersecurity, software infrastructure, financial technology and digital health.