Leadership Team

With over 25 years of executive federal government and commercial experience at both public and private companies, Mr. Taddeo is Appgate’s Chief Executive Officer and President. He previously served as Appgate’s CISO, directing global security operations, crisis management and business continuity processes, and oversaw Appgate’s federal government business, working closely with sales and technical leadership to define and deliver Zero Trust solutions to meet the needs of Appgate’s public sector customers.

Previously, Mr. Taddeo was the CISO and President of Cyxtera Federal Group. He is the former Special Agent in Charge of the Special Operations/Cyber Division of the FBI’s New York Office. In this role, he directed over 400 special agents and professional support personnel conducting cyber investigations, surveillance operations, information technology support and crisis management. Previous responsibilities focused on FBI international operations, including service as a Section Chief in the International Operations Division, where he managed operations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Mr. Taddeo received a B.S. in Applied Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After completing his studies, Taddeo served as a tank officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. In 1994 he earned a J.D. from St. John’s University. Upon graduation, he joined the law firm of Mound Cotton Wollan & Greengrass LLP in New York, where he practiced in the field of civil litigation until entering on duty with the FBI. Mr. Taddeo is a member of the New York State Bar and a graduate of the CISO Executive Program at Carnegie Mellon University.

With over 20 years of engineering expertise, Nitin has a proven track record in driving technical innovation. He held pivotal roles at industry leaders like Microsoft, where he developed anti-spam engines for Exchange and Outlook and led significant security projects, including building a real-time intrusion detection pipeline for the U.S. Department of Defense’s $10B JEDI contract. At Dataminr, he led the Core Platforms Engineering Division, helping scale the AI platform that identifies emerging risks from publicly available information. Most recently, as VP/Head of Engineering at Blackbird.AI, he played a key role in advancing their Generative AI platform to combat mis/disinformation and deep fakes.

Nitin also advises early-stage startups on AI and cybersecurity, offering valuable expertise as a Technical Advisor and Subject Matter Expert. He holds dual master’s degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Stony Brook University and Data Science & Machine Learning from UC Berkeley.

Previously, Mr. Dale was Associate General Counsel of Cyxtera Technologies, Inc., Appgate’s former parent company, from May 2017 to January 2020, and Associate General Counsel of 3Cinteractive from July 2014 to April 2017. Prior to that, Mr. Dale was a corporate and securities associate at Greenberg Traurig, LLP from September 2010 to June 2014. He received his B.S. in Finance, B.A. in Economics, and M.S. in Finance from the University of Florida, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia.

Eyal brings more than 20 years of finance leadership experience in cybersecurity and fintech, with a track record of driving operational excellence and scalable growth. At Appgate, he leads financial strategy, planning, and performance management, aligning finance with business objectives. Previously, Eyal held senior finance roles at Confetti, Deep Instinct, American Express, and Deloitte, guiding financial operations through periods of rapid expansion and transformation. His expertise spans strategic planning, M&A, and go-to-market enablement.

Eyal holds a BA in Accounting and Finance and an MA in Political Science from Tel Aviv University.

Before joining Appgate, Lopez was Vice President of Global Operations for Cyxtera's fraud offering. His team of over 125 employees were responsible for Service Delivery, Customer Support, Infrastructure Management, and SOC Operations.

Prior to Cyxtera, Lopez led the Service Delivery organization for Easy Solutions, which included Customer Support, SOC Operations, Professional Services, and Risk and Compliance.

Lopez previously served as the Chief Information Officer for Marquis Bank, and as a Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Manager for Ocean Bank, both community banks based in Florida. He holds a degree in Information Technology from the University of Miami's School of Engineering.

Paul originally joined Cryptzone, the pre-cursor to Appgate, in 2016 to build and lead global marketing prior to the creation of Cyxtera in 2017. At Cyxtera, he then held the position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing. Prior to rejoining Appgate in 2024, Paul served in senior marketing roles at companies including Zededa, LoginVSI, Mendix and Precise Software. Paul holds a BS and an MBA from Bentley University.

Melissa joined Appgate in 2024, bringing more than two decades of experience leading teams to deliver products that make navigating digital channels effortless and secure. Before joining Appgate, she spent over six years at digital banking provider, Alkami Technology, where she served in a variety of leadership roles, culminating in Vice President of Product, Platform. Her career spans roles ranging from programming mainframe and web applications at EDS (later acquired by HP) to serving as Senior Vice President of Implementations at Custom Credit Systems (acquired by Finastra). Melissa earned a double major in Public Policy and International Studies, as well as French and European Studies, from Duke University. 

With 18 years of experience at the intersection of engineering, finance, and cybersecurity, Karim has built a career bridging technical innovation and business strategy. He began his career as a Quant Engineer in capital markets and exotic derivatives trading, spending over a decade leading business across France, the U.S., and Latin America. As a Founding Engineer and Chief Architect at Blackbird.AI, he developed a generative AI–powered narrative intelligence platform to combat disinformation at scale.

At Appgate, he leads the Fraud Prevention engineering division, driving the creation of advanced detection platforms that help enterprises outpace evolving digital threats. Karim also serves as a trusted advisor to venture capital and private equity firms on AI, cybersecurity, and fraud prevention strategies

As Vice President of HR Operations at Cyxtera, Suarez-Aguiar led the global benefits program as well as serving as the HR operations leader for the cybersecurity business unit handling employee relations, performance management, and organizational planning. Prior to Cyxtera, she ran the HR function at Easy Solutions. Suarez-Aguiar started her professional career at Terremark where she served in positions of increasing seniority in employee benefits. When Terremark was acquired by Verizon in 2011, she led the process to transition all employee benefits including managing employee communication and benefits education. At Verizon, she served as the HR Business Partner for the Colocation Business unit which involved consulting with business leaders to provide creative solutions to HR challenges surrounding compensation, employee relations, and organizational development.

Carolina received her BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management and her MBA from Florida International University.