We’re pleased to announce today that Wendy Thomas, President and CEO of Secureworks, has joined our Board of Directors. Thomas brings more than 25 years of experience in leadership roles at innovative technology companies–specifically in strategic planning, finance, M&A and software product strategy. As a member of the Board, she’ll help shape our vision to scale commercialization of our quantum systems.
We talked with Thomas recently about her decision to join the Board. Here are a few highlights.
Purpose Driven
Thomas approaches her role with a purpose-driven mindset: when she made the move to Secureworks in 2008, she didn’t just change jobs. She moved to an entirely new industry, cybersecurity, because she saw how protecting organizations from cyberattacks could benefit people around the world.
“I see a lot of similarities between the cybersecurity that Secureworks provides and what quantum offers. There is such potential for quantum computing to have a positive impact, not just on companies but on our global citizenry,” she told us.
Thomas started her career as an economist, a role she parlayed into corporate financial leadership roles at companies including FirstData, BellSouth, and Internap Network Services, Inc. She joined Secureworks in 2008 leading Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), where she helped to execute strategic acquisitions that scaled the business and Secureworks’ IPO in 2016.
As strategy lead and Chief Product Officer (CPO), she developed the vision for Secureworks’ future, fueling the team that built and launched Secureworks® Taegis™, which has become the company’s flagship technology platform and ushered in its pivot away from pure services and into being a SaaS provider. Prior to being named CEO in 2021, Thomas served as President of Customer Success, where she drove a customer-centric approach to help organizations achieve better security outcomes. In this role, she was recognized in the number one position in The Software Report’s “Top 25 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity of 2021.”
An opportunity to fulfill the promise of quantum
With that pedigree in software and finance under her belt, why did Thomas decide to join the IonQ Board? It’s simple, she told us: “IonQ’s single-minded dedication is what it takes to advance the field in the right direction. This is unique technology to fulfill the promise of quantum. I joined because of the strength of the leadership team, including [CEO] Peter Chapman, and because of the opportunity to really change the world.”
As an investor, Thomas said her strategy is to find undervalued opportunities with strong fundamentals and the potential for transformative growth. As a leader, she’s also driven by the desire to “achieve outside results,” a motivation that comes from what she called her “incessant curiosity.”
A track record of creating success
It’s that curiosity that drove Thomas to test herself outside her familiar comfort zones – from changing industries and roles throughout her career to leading a team to change its entire business model when she shepherded the launch of Secureworks’ Taegis platform.
Creating success in unknown territory serves as a continuous source of motivation, noted Thomas. She added that some of her proudest professional moments are when she hears from people that they “said yes to something in their careers” despite having trepidation – because they heard her give a talk about the importance of managing fear – not just managing a career.
“It requires a level of agility and creativity and curiosity to find the best path forward,” says Thomas. “It’s about not knowing everything but being able to galvanize teams to accomplish great things together.”
To read more about IonQ’s mission and leadership team, visit our investor relations page.