Acquisition Executed Under New Growth Unit, ISMG Partners
New Delhi, India – April 21, 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 events, research, surveys, and editorial content for a unique audience of enterprise security, risk management and technology professionals, through its two flagship brands – DynamicCIO and DynamicCISO.
“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,” Rahul said.
With this acquisition, Rahul Neel Mani and Pranav Saran will join the ISMG core management team. Grey Head Media will participate in all five different lines of business ISMG currently operates: media, events, the media marketing advisory unit under the CyberTheory brand, CyberEdBoard, and CyberEd.io – the firm’s cybersecurity education platform.
“Intelligence and education have been the cornerstone of ISMG since we founded the company,” said Sanjay Kalra, CEO at ISMG. “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 acquisition will provide ISMG the impetus to further consolidate its reach in the cybersecurity space in India and nearby regions, 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.
“The acquisition of Grey Head Media brings a sharper focus on what we do in the CIO and IT space in Asia and 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 towards 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, starting with India,” 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 SAARC, ASEAN/SEA, ANZ, Middle East and Africa.”
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’ strategy is firmly underway. Each new partnerships, accelerates this strategy and expands the existing portfolio, covering media, summits and events, education, community, with established geo-specific and sector-specific brands, catering to all aspects of the cybersecurity ecosystem.
