Symark buys BeyondTrust

Turnaround guru and Symark CEO John Mutch offers advice for Vator entrepreneurs

As mid-stage startups make their way through the funding freeze, many entrepreneurs are faced with the task of redirecting their team towards new goals--sometimes changing the entire business model. They might take a page from John Mutch's handbook. 

Mutch is CEO of enterprise security provider Symark, which announced its acquisition of Windows security company BeyondTrust yesterday. He's also an expert in flipping companies. When one of the largest frauds in software industry history bankrupted Peregrin System and put the executive team behind bars, Mutch was tapped to turn the company company around. His first board meeting at Peregrin was interrupted by FBI agents who arrested three of salesment (check out the video for the story and advice on solving PR and ethics snafus). He later sold the company to HP for $425 million.

Symark, the biggest provider of access management for Unix and Linux systems, has been pretty dormant in recent years. With the acquisition of BeyondTrust, Mutch is shaking the security giant out of slumber and adding Windows systems to its offerings, in hopes of cornering the access management market. During his 8-month tenure at Symark, he’s replaced the management team, revved their underperforming products, and set his aim on competing with tech giants Novell and IBM. Check out the brief embedded interview for Mutch's plans at the company, and the acquisition announcement here.