10 Things You Didn't Know about Timothy Eades

Timothy Eades is a CEO with over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, and executive management. Having previously enjoyed phenomenal success with BEA Systems, Sana Security, Phoenix Technologies, and IBM, he's now teaching the world a thing or two about cyber security as the CEO of vArmour. If all that wasn't enough, he's also a dedicated philanthropist, a committed cyclist, and a hardcore punk rocker. If you've ever wondered what it takes to become a top CEO, find out now as we take a look at ten things you didn't know about Timothy Eades.

1. He's very well educated

Eades didn't get to where he is today by luck. Before (and even after) making his first steps on the career ladder, Eades studied his craft intensively, obtaining advanced degrees in business, international marketing, and financial analysis. He studied at various universities but achieved most of his qualifications at Solent University in England. Even today, he's not left the world of academia completely behind: for the past few years, he's lectured in entrepreneurship at Lehigh University.

2. He has over 20 years of leadership experience

Over the course of his professional life, Eades has managed to rack up 20 years of leadership experience across a number of verticals, including sales, marketing, and executive management. Prior to joining vArmour, he served as CEO at Silver Tail Systems; as CEO of the SMB focused SaaS company, Everyone.net; and in various executive positions at BEA Systems, Sana Security, Phoenix Technologies, and IBM.

3. He was appointed vArmour CEO in 2014

In June 2014, it was announced that Eades had been appointed as the new CEO of vArmour, a stealth security start-up based in Mountain View, CA. The company had been founded 3 years previously by co-founders Roger Lian and Michael Shieh. Under Eades' stewardship, vArmour has secured backing from investors such as Highland Capital Partners, AllegisCyber, Redline Capital, Citi Ventures, and Telstra. It's also emerged as the leading provider of Application Relationship Management.

4. He's a huge fan of punk rock

Although Eades was never in a band, he grew up surrounded by old-school British Punk. Speaking to Inc.com, he explained how he became immersed in the scene as a young kid in England. "When I was very young, my two older brothers would take me to raging loud punk and indie bands like AC/DC, The Cure, The Damned, and The Pogues," he recalled. "Once I learned to drive a car, I'd make the trek to London, which was a commitment -- the drive was 75 miles round-trip -- and I'd go to as many punk and rock 'n' roll shows as possible. Eventually, you'd go to enough shows that you started to hang out with the band."

5. He believes in challenging the status quo

A self-confessed punk rocker at heart, Eades' musical tastes have had a big impact on his leadership style. During an interview with entrepreneur.com, Eades explained how he believes that the best leaders are ones who aren't afraid to rock the boat and challenge the status quo. "To truly make an impact, you have to act against the status quo -- to adopt a punk rocker’s mentality -- and foster unprecedented achievements, both in and outside of business," he said, "My punk lifestyle is about standing out while still being comfortable in my own skin. I am 100 percent myself, 100 percent of the time. I never try to be the stereotypical CEO or succumb to the behaviors of what I imagine one looks like."

6. He's created an album record wall at vArmour

Eades doesn't just talk the talk of a punk. He doesn't even just walk the walk of a punk. He's gone one step further and built the wall of one. At vArmour HQ, Eades has created an album record wall where the name of each album (which include "Too Much Pressure" by The Selecter, "No Rest for the Wicked" by New Model Army, "He Who Dares Wins" by Theater of Hate, and "Dig The New Breed" by The Ham) represents a particular element of startup culture and the challenges that are regularly faced by aspiring young entrepreneurs.

7. He always makes room for me-time

He may be the CEO of one of the fastest-growing start-ups around, but Eades makes sure to take plenty of time out to indulge in some 'me-time.' Speaking to Medium, he revealed how he blocks out some time each day to focus on himself. On the weekends, he takes 3.5 hours out each day to ride his bike or walk around Silicon Valley and lose himself in his thoughts. "Having alone time helps you focus your competitive spirit in a different direction because, for example, if you join a running club, nobody cares if you’re a CEO when you’re out on a run, they only care about beating you in the daily sprint," he explains.

8. He believes in giving back

Punk and philanthropy don't often go hand in hand, but in Eades' case, they definitely do. Over the past couple of decades, he's become almost as well known for his charitable work as he is for his business endeavors. One of his most notable endeavors has been founding an organization called Cake4Kids.org, a non-profit that delivers birthday cakes to underprivileged children who are at risk or in foster homes. Eades is currently working on expanding the organization into the US and is planning on delivering over 5000 birthday cakes this year alone.

9. He's the founder of Cyber Mentor Fund

In 2018, Eades launched Cyber Mentor Fund, a venture fund with a focus on early-stage cyber security companies. The fund matches up-and-coming entrepreneurs with mentors that include Chief Information Security Officers, leading technologists, experienced entrepreneurs, and executives. As well as helping new enterprises flourish, the fund aims to encourage the development of emerging novel technologies that push the limits of cyber security solutions.

10. He's active in several start-ups

In addition to his work as the CEO of vArmour, Eades has served on the board of directors of numerous start-ups over the years. He's currently an active board member for Enveil, a rapidly growing data security startup that specializes in protecting Data in Use to facilitate secure search, sharing, analytics, and collaboration, and Okera, a software solutions start up that delivers a platform to find, access, and analyze data.