The Future of Security Operations

Pipedrive’s Kristian Kivimägi: How to Scale Security Teams While Taking Care of Your People

The Future of Security Operations

Show Notes

In this episode of Future of Security Operations, Thomas speaks with Kristian Kivimägi, Head of Security Operations at Pipedrive, a CRM and intelligent revenue management platform for small businesses, who helped scale Pipedrive's Info Sec team from start-up to 20 people. Kivimägi is also a guest lecturer in vulnerability assessment and cybersecurity at Tallinn University of Technology.

Topics include: The state of security operations today, both the good and the bad Tips for retaining and building talent from someone who built a security team How to reduce time spent on manual tasks, including frequent phishing emails What elements individuals who want to build a security team should prioritize, and advice to new security leaders How to measure security team success, what metrics to track, and how to assess performance How to take care of your team, combat burnout, and improve mental health What security operations teams will look like in five years, and what technology they will implement

More from The Future of Security Operations

May 28, 2025

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Matt Muller, Field CISO at Tines. With over a decade of experience at companies like Material Security, Coinbase, and Inflection, Matt’s got a strong track record of scaling SecOps teams, building threat detection and mitigation programs, and driving trust and safety initiatives. His knowledge impressed Thomas and the Tines team so much that they invited him to become the company's first Field CISO.

May 20, 2025

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Travis Howerton, Co-founder and CEO of RegScale. Travis began his security career with roles at government and regulated organizations, including the National Nuclear Security Administration and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, before being inspired by inefficiencies in compliance processes to co-found RegScale. As CEO of RegScale, he oversees their Continuous Controls Monitoring platform, which enables rapid GRC outcomes for organizations like Wiz, Keybank, and the US Department of Energy.

May 13, 2025

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Raymond Schippers. With 15 years of experience leading detection and response teams, Raymond is a seasoned security leader with high-impact roles at Check Point and Canva under his belt. He recently became co-founder of Huntabil.IT, a Melbourne-based company providing organizations with tailored advisory services to align with their unique threat landscapes and business goals.

May 6, 2025

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Dane VandenBerg. Dane’s 16-year security career includes product-focused roles with vendors like Qintel and more recently, Microsoft, where he was Principal Technical Specialist supporting the development of their security copilot. He’s also spent a lot of time in fintech, serving as Vice President of Information Security at Prime Trust and, currently, Senior Director of Security Operations at Circle.

Apr 29, 2025

In this week’s episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas is joined by Josh Lemos, CISO at GitLab. Throughout his 15-year career in security, Josh has led teams at ServiceNow, Cylance, and Square. Known for his expertise in AI-driven security strategies, Josh is also a board member with HiddenLayer. He drives innovation at GitLab with a relentless focus on offensive security, identity management, and automation.

See all episodes →