Acquisition Executed Under New Growth Unit, ISMG Partners
Princeton, NJ – April 20, 2022 – Information Security Media Group Corp. (ISMG) is excited to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in Grey Head Media Pvt. Ltd., under ISMG Partners – ISMG’s newly formed growth unit for acquisitions, investments, and global partnerships.
Founded in 2011 by Rahul Neel Mani and Pranav Saran, Grey Head Media (GHM) is a B2B media organization, focusing on the enterprise technology and cybersecurity domains. GHM specializes in industry-focused custom events, research, surveys, and editorial content for a unique audience of enterprise security, risk management and technology professionals.
“Intelligence and education have been the cornerstone of ISMG since we founded the company,” said Sanjay Kalra, CEO at ISMG. “The Grey Head Media team shares the values that ISMG stands for. As the needs of the global cybersecurity community continue to evolve, the ISMG team strives to be a few steps ahead of the needs of today. With Grey Head Media’s team joining ISMG’s global team, we will be able to offer a broader set of offerings to our partners as well as the technology and cybersecurity practitioners worldwide.”
The GHM team will participate in all five different lines of business that ISMG currently operates: media, events, the media marketing advisory unit under the CyberTheory brand, CyberEdBoard, and CyberEd.io — the firm’s cybersecurity education platform.
Rahul Neel Mani and Pranav Saran will join the ISMG core management team.
“The massive disruption caused by COVID-19 has made some models obsolete, while creating countless new opportunities for growth, at scale. After establishing a strong brand in this space, this is the most appropriate and exciting time for GHM to take a quantum leap into the next phase of growth,” said Rahul Neel Mani, co-founder and editor at Grey Head Media. “With the passionate community engagement and unique approach of Grey Head Media and the immense expertise of ISMG with its global footprint, this move is an extremely positive signal to the industry.”
The GHM acquisition will provide ISMG the impetus to further consolidate its reach in the cybersecurity space, while bringing ISMG’s global resources, expertise, and strong technology backbone to bear for the purposes of short-term and long-term growth and expansion.
“As ISMG continues to grow and thrive across the multiple areas we operate in within the cybersecurity domain, the acquisition of Grey Head Media brings a sharper focus on what we do in the CIO and IT space globally,” said Mike D’Agostino, general manager at ISMG. “We believe this will be a truly symbiotic relationship for both organizations and an enormous growth opportunity for the founders.”
The inclusion of GHM’s CIO business into ISMG’s portfolio of offerings enables ISMG to spearhead a push toward changing the narrative around the CIO’s role in security — often considered to be at odds with cybersecurity goals. This is despite industry data suggesting that up to 50%-60% of organizations continue to have CIOs and IT teams manage cybersecurity responsibilities.
“Grey Head and ISMG joining hands will establish a true cybersecurity resource for CIO and IT teams, while helping both entities to develop deeper specialization in their key focus areas,” said Varun Haran, managing director for ISMG in Asia and the Middle East. “Beyond this, with our shared values, community and synergies, we are excited to take the Grey Head brand into other global regions.”
Pranav Saran, co-founder and director of sales and operations at Grey Head Media, said: “Grey Head Media has carved a niche for itself in 11 years of its existence. Through our innovation and compassionate approach, we are one of the top preferred media organizations for partner OEMs to reach out to the vast, growing communities of technology and security decision makers. Combining the best practices of both organizations, we will look at scaling GHM’s offerings and launch more world-class products for our clients.”
ISMG’s strategy to extend the firm’s leadership via a ‘build, grow and acquire’ approach is firmly underway. Each new partnership accelerates this strategy and expands the existing portfolio covering media, summits and events, education, and community, with established geo-specific and sector-specific brands, catering to all aspects of the cybersecurity ecosystem.
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About ISMG
Information Security Media Group (ISMG) is a global education and intelligence company focused on cybersecurity. ISMG maintains the world’s largest network devoted solely to information security and risk management. Each of our thirty media properties provides education, research and news, specifically tailored to key vertical sectors including banking, healthcare and the public sector; geographies from North America to Southeast Asia; and topics such as data breach prevention, cyber risk assessment and fraud. Our annual global summit series connects senior security professionals with industry thought leaders to find actionable solutions for pressing cybersecurity challenges.
About Grey Head Media
Incorporated in 2011, Grey Head Media is a full-service, B2B media organization working with enterprise technology, digital and security decision makers. Grey Head provides a neutral, trustworthy platform for the entire enterprise technology ecosystem including users, OEMs, ISVs, system integrators and others. Through its content, conferencing and research, the company provides an apt platform for peer-to-peer information sharing and learning. The core values of Grey Head include promotion of community development through continuous learning. Grey Head, since its inception, has stood firm by its core principles of transparency, independence, unbiased and ethics-based working. The collective and diversified experience of the leadership team has made Grey Head one of the preferred platforms for community engagement programs in enterprise technology and security space.
