Thomas Patterson
Senior Director of Product Management by Day – Metal Worker and Hair Model by Night
Thomas Patterson is the Senior Director of Product Management. He oversees VikingCloud’s Asgard Platform, Mobile applications, and the company’s newest patent-pending AI-powered solutions, including THOR AI and Cyber Risk Score.
Thomas has 15 years of IT and cybersecurity experience – and has already built four commercial-grade SaaS Platforms – and is working on the fifth. He started as a systems administrator for an Internet Service Provider (ISP), moved into engineering, and then into consulting. He has worked with customers of all sizes, from small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to Fortune 100, as well as local, state, and federal government entities. Thomas has held leadership positions at various organizations, including Vectra AI, GoSecure, SecurityScore card, and Trustwave. As a consultant, he was a subject matter expert in data security and privacy.
Thomas has been an expert contributor to industry publications and has presented at the RSA and Black Hat conferences. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Winthrop University and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Information Technology Management from Western Governors University.
Interview with Thomas
Q: What does your day as a VikingCloud product leader look like?
A: I work quite a bit with my VikingCloud colleagues in our European offices, so an early 5 AM start is typical. I begin with a check of overnight emails before getting my kids off to school, then morning meetings with European colleagues and a host of product management and engineering team standup meetings to discuss blockers, requests, and day-to-day updates.
In the afternoons, I typically focus on long-term strategies, roadmap updates, and working with my team to coordinate user journeys, customer experiences, and mentoring.
Outside of work, I enjoy tinkering with 3D printing, laser engraving, CNC machining, and metal working—I’ve created some cool items. I’ve also been a hair model for the past five years—I’ve had quite a few different hair colors for this.
Q: What gets you most excited/passionate about your job right now?
A: What gets me most excited right now is VikingCloud’s THOR AI initiative. THOR AI is a first-of-its-kind generative AI-powered cybersecurity chatbot that helps companies find more security vulnerabilities faster. I think clients will really appreciate having a trained virtual security analyst at their fingertips, helping them better understand the risks and security threats they face in their environments.
We’ve filed two patents for this solution – including having THOR customize the level of answer detail, complexity, and vocabulary used in responses and recommendations. We’ve built THOR to identify the level of cybersecurity expertise of individual users, from non-existent to CISO-level capabilities – making the solution highly-adoptable, easy-to-use, and effective.
I love working with clients to solve challenges with new products and solutions. It’s rewarding to hear a client say, “This is exactly what I never knew I needed.”
Q: What has been the biggest challenge of your career that you learned the most from?
A: Burnout is one of the toughest challenges one can face in their career. You must know when to recharge your batteries before you drain them completely. Instead of burning the candle at both ends, we, in cybersecurity, tend to put it in the microwave and set it to maximum melt.
I’ve learned to speak up when too much is going on that risks the quality and security of the company. I’ve also learned to listen to those who work for me and with me to recognize the signs of when a recharge is required. It’s a hard lesson but getting the right work-life balance leads to doing better in each.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to VikingCloud customers, what would it be?
A: Trust but verify. In other words: Be suspicious! In today’s www or Wicked Wild West online world, or the interwebs as we like to joke, it often takes only a simple mouse click to open yourself up to a malicious attacker. Ensure you always give yourself the necessary couple of seconds to think before acting when you’re online.
Thomas’s drive and passion for building innovative products and platforms and delivering exceptional client experiences have enabled him to provide solutions that solve even the most complex client challenges. His experience and leadership skills have made him a powerful addition to the VikingCloud team, and we’re fortunate to have him.
Learn more about Thomas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomjpatterson/.
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