Forgepoint Capital Announces Six Promotions After Breakout Year of Growth and Performance

After a breakout year of growth and performance, Forgepoint is pleased to announce the promotions of Leo Casusol, Andrew McClure, Ernie Bio, MJ Ramachandran, Connie Qian, and Shane Shook.

“Forgepoint has a long-standing commitment to mentorship and developing diverse talent within our firm,” said Forgepoint Co-founder and Managing Director Alberto Yépez. “We’re thrilled to recognize and congratulate our team members for their many contributions and achievements. Their promotions reflect our team’s growing expertise in cybersecurity and cloud infrastructure innovation, venture investing, and company building. They will continue to play critical roles as we deliver superior results to our investors and help our portfolio companies succeed.”

Leo Casusol: joined Forgepoint in 2020 and was promoted from Venture Partner to Partner. Leo focuses on Cloud Infrastructure, DevSecOps, AI/ML, and frontier security. He spent over two decades as CIO at Cyxtera, Verizon Business, Terremark Worldwide, Liquidity Services, and Quadrum, and applies his expertise in product development, infrastructure management, global operations, and go to market strategy to help companies scale. He currently serves on the Boards of Rafay and SolCyber, and also works with 1Kosmos, Area 1 Security (to be acquired by Cloudflare), Cysiv, Huntress, and Noname Security. Leo holds an MBA from the Universidad Nacional de San Agustin and a BASc from the Universidad Católica de Santa Maria.

Andrew McClure: joined Forgepoint in 2017 and was promoted from Principal to Partner. Andrew focuses on areas such as identity and access management, threat intelligence, cyber insurance, security services, and privacy. He serves on the Boards of BehavioSec, Constella Intelligence, CyberCube Analytics, Cysiv, and Wirewheel, and previously served on the Board of Prevoty (acquired by Imperva). Andrew has also led several spinout investments for Forgepoint and recently incubated two companies, both currently in stealth.  He is also a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute and a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations. He served as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and remains affiliated with the Reserves. Andrew holds an MPA from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, a Masters in Strategic Studies from the Australian National University, and a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Ernie Bio: joined Forgepoint in 2018 and was promoted from Principal to Partner. Ernie focuses on all aspects of identity, threat detection and response, mobile app security and other areas within cybersecurity. He serves on the Boards of 1Kosmos, Bishop Fox, Huntress, and NowSecure, works closely with Interos and Strata and previously served on the Board of Bayshore Networks (acquired by OPSWAT). He previously served as Chief Operating Officer of the Defense Innovation Unit and Director of the U.S. Cyber Command Point of Partnership, and began his career as an Air Force pilot. Ernie holds an MBA from the NYU Leonard N. Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Science from Loyola University.

MJ Ramachandran: joined Forgepoint in 2018 and was promoted from Vice President to Principal. MJ leads coverage on cybersecurity convergence categories – infrastructure software, DevOps and developer productivity, AI / ML, and fintech. He serves on the Boards of Area 1 Security (to be acquired by Cloudflare), Anitian, Cloudentity, DeepSee, Rafay, and Verituity. Prior to Forgepoint, MJ managed the leadership team at Lending Club that executed on the company’s $10B+ personal loans, and advised companies on M&A and equity financings at AGC Partners. MJ holds an MMS from the Duke Fuqua School of Business and an MA from the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras.

Connie Qian: joined Forgepoint in 2020 and was promoted from Sr. Associate to Vice President. Connie focuses on infrastructure, developer tools, and fintech. She serves on the Boards of Sphere and Verituity and played a key role in sourcing Rafay. Prior to Forgepoint, she worked in equity research at Goldman Sachs and Baird, and finance and strategy at Block (fka Square). Connie holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University.

Shane Shook: joined Forgepoint in 2019 and was promoted from Venture Consultant to Venture Partner. Shane provides technical due diligence and serves as a strategic advisor to portfolio companies. He serves on the Boards of BehavioSec and SolCyber, and works closely with Constella, DeepSee, and Remediant. Shane brings 30+ years of expertise in IT and security consulting, including deep experience in cybercrime investigations and forensics. He is often called upon to provide expert witness testimony on the most significant incidents impacting global enterprises and organizations across industries. He previously served 10 years as a Cryptologic Linguist with the Air Force. Shane holds a PhD from Capella University, an MBA from Phoenix University, and a BTM from Peru State College.