Mark McGovern

Mark is a Venture Partner with Sands Capital Ventures. His experience includes working as an engineer for the CIA where he developed covert and clandestine communication systems for over a decade. He left the CIA to lead Cigital’s software security practice where he worked with a talented crew that included Brad Arkin and Cigital’s CTO Gary McGraw. Together they built out a Fortune 500 clientele that included Microsoft, Mastercard, Pfizer, Fiserv, Symantec, the US Federal Reserve, and the UK National Lottery.

Mark’s focus on emergent technologies then led him to join In-Q-Tel, where as VP of Technology he led security investments for the US Intelligence Community for more than 9 years. His investments included ArcSight (IPO), SilverTail (acquired by RSA), FireEye (IPO), and Veracode (acquired by CA Technologies). In 2012, Mark founded Mobile System 7, one of the first cybersecurity companies to detect threats and protect access based on user behavior analytics. He’s a licensed Professional Engineer and holds 4 U.S. patents.