GObugfree is ready to take off - the management is complete

She is a marketing and sales expert through and through. At the same time, Christina Kistler is a true believer when it comes to cybersecurity and bug bounty. After studying business administration at the University of St. Gallen and specializing in marketing, she first worked for many years in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

This gave her in-depth experience in international marketing, e-commerce and the implementation of effective sales strategies in various industries and global markets. Through various further training courses, she moved closer and closer to digital business before taking up a job in IT security for the first time a year ago. "I actively sought to work in the field of bug bounty and cybersecurity because I am convinced that Switzerland and Europe still have a lot of catching up to do in the area and I would like to contribute something to better protect SMEs in particular from cyberattacks," she says.

The focus on SMEs is particularly appealing

The move to GObugfree allows the marketing expert with international experience to take the next step in her career and become a member of a management team. In addition to marketing and communications, she is also responsible for sales. What particularly appeals to her about the new challenge? "The approach of GObugfree and the collaboration in such an expert team," says Kistler.

That's because the startup, with its community of trusted Friendly Hackers, offers not only programs for large companies, as is classically the case, but also bug bounty programs and cyber security bug tests tailored to the needs of SMEs in particular, which particularly appeals to Kistler. Namely, in that GObugfree simplifies access with its SaaS platform, offers cost-efficient packages and accompanies customers through the process. "Switzerland is an SME country and IT security is becoming increasingly important, especially for SMEs. At the same time, they are dependent on support. Being able to help here is something I find extremely meaningful," says Kistler.

Top expertise in IT security and software development

Kistler was something like the last piece of the puzzle that GObugfree was missing to be able to master the next development steps. She meets a concentrated load of expertise in the management of the IT security start-up. On the one hand, there is CEO Pawel Kowalski. After studying computer science at the ETH, he first worked as a developer for UBS, among others, before co-founding several software companies.

He shares the entrepreneurial gene with GObugfree co-founder Michael Schläpfer. He serves as the start-up's Chief Hacking Officer, holds a doctorate from ETH, is a book author and a passionate software engineer, consultant and security architect. Together with Rolf Wagner, he is also a co-founder of FortIT AG, which is also active in the field of IT security.

Wagner himself takes on the role of Head Operations & Customers Success at GObugfree. Wagner is driven by his passion for analyzing customer challenges, searching for and finding solutions, and thus advancing customers. At the same time, he teaches at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, thus passing on his passion to the next generation.

The core team is complete, the start-up ready for more

Marcel Eyer holds the position of CTO at GObugfree. After training as a computer scientist at the University of Applied Sciences, he worked for various companies as a software developer before becoming CTO of placeB in 2016. He subsequently co-founded orbit7, a company specializing in software development, with Kowalski. In total, Eyer brings more than 20 years of experience as a software developer, project manager and entrepreneur.

Now, with Christina Kistler, the core team is complete and the foundation has been laid for GObugfree to continue to grow in order to protect Swiss companies even better and, above all, sustainably from cyberattacks in the future with the help of trusted friendly hackers.