Former Mandiant Executive Bill Robbins Targets Browser-Based AI Security Growth
Menlo Security tapped a longtime cyber go-to-market leader as its next CEO to address emerging risks associated with agentic AI.
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The Silicon Valley-based browser security vendor tasked longtime Mandiant Chief Revenue Officer Bill Robbins with addressing agentic AI risks such as prompt poisoning, data exfiltration, and malware ingestion in non-API environments. Many vendors claim to secure AI but Robbins said Menlo’s browser-level visibility provides differentiated capabilities when it comes to securing agents in runtime.
“I believed in browser security coming into its own, which I think we’ve seen play out,” Robbins told Information Security Media Group. “I’m not Nostradamus, but it seems to have worked out. Security has clearly become more relevant. Menlo has continued to build on that capability.”
Robbins joined Menlo as president in November 2024 and will succeed Amir Ben-Efraim, who had been CEO since the company was founded in 2013. Prior to joining Menlo, Robbins spent 17 months leading Sophos’s worldwide field operations, more than six years as Mandiant’s chief revenue officer, three years leading sales at Nuance, and nearly eight years as Symantec, culminating in a role leading sales (see: Menlo-Votiro Deal Integrates File Protection With Browsers).
Why Menlo Security Decided to Focus On AI Runtime Protection
His interest in Menlo was rooted in browser security as a category that was “coming into its own.” As president, Robbins said he oversaw the majority of Menlo’s operational functions, allowing him to develop close relationships with employees, the board, customers, and Ben-Efraim.
“I’ve had a long on ramp,” Robbins said. “I’m not going to be culture shock or tissue rejection. I’ve had my opportunity to come in and had like 90% percent of the business reporting to me in my previous role.”
A significant portion of enterprise data still resides in environments that are not API-accessible. Instead of focusing on API-connected SaaS applications, Menlo focuses on runtime interactions that occur in non-API legacy systems and web environments. The firm aims to secure the environment where agents interact with the web and enterprise systems.
“Half of the world’s data and information that agents are going to need to look at is still in legacy systems that don’t have APIs,” Robbins said. “Or it’s being accessed in the browser, and the internet doesn’t have APIs. We could help them get the connectivity and then secure that transaction, that activity that the agent has.”
What Sets Menlo’s Browser Security Apart From Competitors
Competitors like Palo Alto Networks bundle browser security tools into broader suites but Robbins said they lack Menlo’s depth of browser introspection and control. Robbins said Menlo offers real-time inspection of browser sessions, data loss prevention and redaction, blocking inbound and outbound sensitive data, and runtime enforcement against prompt injection and poisoning.
“We’re able to, in real time, either block information from coming in or out, or redact information that’s coming in or out of an organization as it comes through the browser,” Robbins said. “We’re able to prevent malware from coming in through that browser session. We’re able to put constraints around that in terms of prompt poisoning and prompt injection.”
Robbins wants to accelerate Menlo’s revenue growth through expanded go-to-market partnerships with Cisco, Google Cloud, AWS, and federal markets, as well as drive product innovation around AI security and operational quality. He wants to maintain and improve the company’s 45% annual growth rate, net retention rates in excess of 120%, and net promoter score of 67%.
“Just doing everything I can to focus on quality and then product innovation,” Robbins said. “Those are the two key items that will be driven on. If we do both of those things, I believe we’ll see the revenue growth. We had a phenomenal year.”
Robbins said he wants to drive faster product delivery cycles at Menlo, use AI internally to increase engineering productivity, and shift engineering focus from maintenance to innovation. Unlike high-burn startups, Robbins said Menlo expects to achieve EBITDA positivity in its current fiscal year, which he notes is uncommon at the company’s size.
“How many issues do we have?” Robbins said. “Every SaaS company has something that happens throughout the course of the year. How do we make sure that’s on a downward slope, and when things do happen, what’s our time to resolution and limiting the impact to our customers?”