New growth-focused CEO set to build upon company’s momentum, achieve next level of success while enabling DevSecOps teams to leverage Shift Smart approach to software development

Contrast Security (Contrast), the code security platform built for developers and trusted by security, today announced the appointment of Rick Fitz as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Fitz’s deep software development expertise and proven track record of scaling businesses will enable him to lead the company into its next growth phase while attaining new market leadership. Outgoing CEO Alan Naumann will remain on the company’s board as an advisor and will serve as President while helping Fitz quickly ramp into the CEO role.

“Application Security Testing (AST) is a fragmented market where organizations use various approaches to find and eliminate vulnerabilities in their software architectures. It lacks innovation, which leaves the development teams frustrated and enterprises exposed,” said Fitz. “My background enables me to understand the value of inspecting an application from the inside out, which is why I believe Contrast’s unique Shift Smart approach will redefine the market. I decided to join Contrast because it has a solid foundation of products and an amazing team. Together, we will help software-driven companies take full advantage of the application economy by getting secure code moving across their complete Software Development Life Cycle [SDLC] with a unified platform.”

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Prior to joining Contrast, Fitz served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Splunk’s IT Operations & Application Development Market Group, where he helped lead the company through multiple acquisitions, launch innovative products, develop new capabilities and generate unique go-to-market strategies.

“As one of Contrast’s early investors, Battery is thrilled to welcome Rick as the company’s new CEO,” said Dharmesh Thakker, a Battery Ventures general partner and investor in early- and growth-stage companies in the next-generation, enterprise applications market. “Rick’s previous experience scaling large software companies, notably at Splunk, will help him lead Contrast as it continues to build cutting-edge solutions to help organizations defend against growing and increasingly complex application-security threats.”

Naumann, who served as Contrast’s President and CEO since 2016, led the company through multiple funding rounds, including a $150M Series E funding in November 2021. Under Naumann’s leadership, Contrast was acknowledged by CB Insights as a unicorn company within the cybersecurity sector and was named a JMP Securities Cyber 66 Company.

“I am excited to pass the baton to Rick because he is known to deliver business outcomes [and to] build lasting relationships. He cares deeply about customers’ success and leads with a transparent and collaborative management style,” Naumann said. “Rick’s background in business-to-business [B2B] enterprise technology provides him a clear understanding of our market and will help pave the way for new business growth.”

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