• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The stock market may be doing so well that it's causing more baby boomers and Gen Xers to drop out of the labor force

2

U.S. Treasury is paying $3 billion a day in interest on national debt, says the CBO—having spent $10 billion to prop up the currency of its top lender

3

How stalled models, missed deadlines, and staff burnout led to the unraveling of Google's DeepMind

1

The stock market may be doing so well that it's causing more baby boomers and Gen Xers to drop out of the labor force

2

U.S. Treasury is paying $3 billion a day in interest on national debt, says the CBO—having spent $10 billion to prop up the currency of its top lender

3

How stalled models, missed deadlines, and staff burnout led to the unraveling of Google's DeepMind
TechCybersecurity

Exclusive: Top Hackers-For-Hire Startup Names New CEO

Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
Robert Hackett
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 28, 2017, 6:00 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Bugcrowd, one of the world’s top bug bounty startups, is set to name a new chief executive on Monday.

Casey Ellis, the erstwhile CEO, told Fortune this weekend that he is stepping aside to become chairman and chief technology officer of the firm he founded in 2012. His replacement will be Ashish Gupta, former chief marketing officer and executive vice president of Infoblox (BLOX), a Santa Clara, Calif.-based cybersecurity company that helps businesses manage their IT networks.

Ellis said that he has been searching for his replacement for the past six months. He decided to bring someone on board to run the business so that he could instead focus on the technical product.

“Oftentimes this happens because the board suddenly flips out—the kid’s got to go, we need a grownup in the room. That’s not what happened here,” Ellis said.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

“I feel quite proud of what I was able to do but, truth be told, it’s not what I’m absolutely passionate about,” Ellis continued. He noted that he prefers the engineering and product strategy side to handling financials, HR, and other aspects of the CEO job.

“It has been one of those—I don’t want to say difficult decisions—but it has been a heavy one, an important one,” Ellis said.

Bugcrowd connects hackers to companies so that the former can get paid for reporting and helping fix vulnerabilities in the latter’s products. (For more insight into bug hunting, read this feature story in the July issue of Fortune magazine.) Bugcrowd works with customers such as Mastercard (MA), Pinterest, and Fiat Chrysler of America (FCAU) to bolster their security programs.

Bug bounties have become a hot trend in the security world of late. Tech firms like Google (GOOG), Facebook (FB), and Microsoft (MSFT) were early to the game, but now everyone from Apple (AAPL) to the Pentagon to United Airlines (UAL) has tried one out.

Bugcrowd is one of two main bug bounty startups that create software to facilitate a market between security researchers and clients. Its rival—the McDonald’s to its Burger King, or Coca-Cola to its Pepsi—is HackerOne, which incidentally also brought on a non-founder CEO to scale its business two years ago. (You can watch a clip of Mårtin Mickos, HackerOne’s CEO, at this year’s Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference here.)

In a statement to Fortune, new CEO Gupta praised “Casey’s vision,” applying crowdsourcing to the problem of security research and vulnerability testing. “I am delighted to join Bugcrowd,” he said.

Art Coviello, partner at Rally Ventures, Bugcrowd board member, and former president of cybersecurity firm RSA, wrote in an email to Fortune that Gupta is “a tremendous talent with the kind of sales and marketing expertise we need to take us to the next level.”

To date, Bugcrowd has 60,000 security researchers enrolled on its platform. The company’s headcount tripled to 110 from around 35 a year ago.

Ellis, an Aussie entrepreneur who has been investing in cybersecurity startups and advising entrepreneurs on the side, said that he plans to make teaching “how to replace yourself” part of his mentorship.

“It’s an inherently awkward thing to do optically,” Ellis told Fortune. “It’s a hard thing to do, but it’s a good one.”

About the Author
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.