Capture The Bug adds US tech leaders for North American push

Capture The Bug has added three senior US-based technology leaders to its Executive Advisory Board as it prepares to expand further into North America.

The Hamilton-founded cybersecurity company said the appointments reflect changing security practices among software organisations. Many teams now move away from annual penetration testing cycles and use more continuous testing approaches aligned with frequent software releases.

The new advisors sit across San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Greater Philadelphia. Capture The Bug said they bring experience from organisations and products including Reddit, Microsoft, GitHub, Azure, Copilot and Visa.

Capture The Bug was founded by Ankita Dhakar. The company provides Penetration Testing as a Service, or PTaaS. It positions PTaaS as an alternative to point-in-time penetration tests. It also frames the model as continuous, expert-led security testing integrated into engineering workflows.

Dhakar linked the model to the pace of software change in many organisations.

"Most security testing models were designed for a world where software changed a few times a year," said Dhakar, Co-Founder & CEO, Capture The Bug. "Today, engineering teams are shipping code weekly or even daily. Risk changes constantly, but testing hasn't kept up. PTaaS exists to close that gap by embedding security expertise directly into how teams build and release software."

Commercial launch

Capture The Bug commercially launched its platform in 2024. Before that, it operated for several years as a cybersecurity consultancy.

The company said it worked with CTOs and CISOs across New Zealand and Australia during that period. It said this work informed the design of its platform and the validation of its approach against engineering and compliance requirements.

The company said the new advisors will focus on platform scale, enterprise readiness, governance and US market entry. The appointments also arrive as Capture The Bug continues to build its platform and team from New Zealand.

New advisors

Ninad Narkhede has joined as a Strategic Board Partner. Capture The Bug said he previously served as Global Head of Cloud Engineering at Visa and now works as CTO at Apoddo. The company said he will advise on enterprise readiness, governance maturity and security expectations at large organisations.

Ellen K. Pao has joined as an advisor focused on leadership, governance and organisational resilience. Capture The Bug said Pao is the former CEO of Reddit, a technology investor and the author of Reset. The company linked the appointment to its plans to scale internationally.

James Tramel has joined as Strategic Advisor and US Commercial Lead. Capture The Bug said he is a former Microsoft product leader across GitHub, Azure and Copilot. It said his remit includes enterprise adoption, partnerships and commercial growth in North America.

Dhakar said the additions reflect the company's focus as it enters a larger market.

"These advisors have built platforms at global scale and understand what enterprise customers expect in terms of security, reliability, and governance," said Dhakar. "Their involvement helps us grow responsibly into the US market while staying focused on outcomes that matter to engineering and security teams."

Existing board

The new appointments sit alongside existing board members. Capture The Bug said its advisory board already includes Dr Vimal Kumar, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Cyber Security Lab at the University of Waikato, and Sarah (Forbes) Webb, former Amazon leader and current COO of legal technology company LawVu.

Capture The Bug said it has worked with fast-growing SaaS companies and listed organisations across New Zealand and Australia since the platform launch. It named customers including LawVu, Paysauce, EROAD, Parkable, Yabble, Whip Around, Cotiss and Blackpearl Group.

The company said its platform has supported more than 200 security engagements across New Zealand and overseas.

Customer outcomes

Capture The Bug cited customer feedback on remediation timelines. It said customers using the platform report vulnerabilities being resolved around 40 percent faster compared with traditional penetration testing approaches.

The company attributed the change to real-time collaboration between engineers and security experts, rather than delayed post-audit reports. It also said the model reduces repeat findings during audits and lowers long-term security costs.

Capture The Bug said it already supports customers across Australia, the United States and India. It also said it continues to develop its platform in New Zealand.

Dhakar said the company plans to challenge assumptions about where global cybersecurity platforms get built.

"There's a perception that global cybersecurity platforms need to be built in Silicon Valley with large teams and deep pools of capital," said Dhakar. "We're proving that you can build a world-class security company from New Zealand with a small, focused team by staying close to customer problems and solving them well enough to compete globally."