This feature is part of Exeleon Magazine’s 100 Most Dynamic Leaders of 2023. Check out the entire issue and listing by clicking on this link.
The one thing that is absolutely certain in life is change. Perhaps, change is undeniably the only way to realize what is important to you in your life.
This realization is especially powerful in the world of dynamic leadership. These leaders understand that adapting to change is the cornerstone for success. They take charge and lead with introspection. They ditch the “this is how it’s done” mindset and reinvent themselves to meet the market where it stands or where it is going.
Darren Gallop is one such powerful leader. As the CEO and Co-founder of Carbide, he believes that adaptability, resilience, vision and empowerment are the most important things that make one a dynamic leader.
When it comes to vision and empowerment, he believes in ensuring the entire company is aligned with the vision. At the same time, he feels it’s essential to empower the leaders and managers in the business to take charge of their respective departments.
Exploring the World of Entrepreneurship
Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, business was one of the most common dinner-table conversations for Darren.
“My mom owned and ran a dance school, while my grandfather ran an amusement park,” he remarks. This entrepreneurial focus left a lasting impact on him and shaped his entire life.
However, he reveals that security space wasn’t his first business. His early ventures were mostly in the music and entertainment field.
Interestingly, the idea to start a security company sprung from challenges faced in his last SaaS company, where he was constantly scrutinized over the security posture and privacy compliance.
Later, this unlocked doors for him to venture into security as the more he learned about it, the more it interested him.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Given the growing and inevitable risk several businesses face today — thanks to globalization and more skilled hackers — the need for strong security leadership is more important than ever.
To address these challenges, Darren and his team at Carbide, aim to achieve enterprise-class security for all small and medium-sized companies.
Deriving its name from the carbide lamps used by miners to illuminate their path and avoid danger in the early 20th century, he and his team are doing the same for their customers in the security space.
In fact, the pressing challenge for Darren was the fact that his customers were asked to meet complex requirements by their respective customers, thus requiring them to comply with several information security and data privacy frameworks.
As Darren faced a similar challenge in his last company as well, this made him determined to envision a future where security is non-negotiable in every company’s culture.
“We do this through our highly skilled success team and domain experts that can make sure that through their partnership with Carbide, they ultimately solve the problem they came to us to solve,” he adds.
Reaching New Peaks with Carbide
Darren’s business acumen, deep interest in security and compliance, along with his entrepreneurial spirit drives Carbide’s strategic vision.
Additionally, his role as the Co-founder and CEO of Carbide continues to evolve. Only a few years ago, he was involved in customer success calls and jumping on sales calls to help sales close deals.
But as he continues to build out the leadership team and develop processes and tools, he finds himself focusing more on strategy and fundraising. “I can sleep well knowing that I have leaders in place owning more and more of the day-to-day operations,” he says.
His persistence to reinvent himself continues to underpin the innovation at Carbide. “I still strive for strategic innovation and creating new solutions to evolve our platform. I love that part of it,” he asserts.
Next Steps for a More Secure Future
The vision for Carbide continues to be around creating efficiency and depth for SME security programs.
Darren believes that there is still a lot of opportunity for innovation, and he is particularly excited about harnessing the possibilities of AI in an increasingly digital world.
