New CSO role and EMEA CRO appointment align with injection of private equity backing
Assured Data Protection has reorganised its executive team to align with its desire for rapid growth, aided by new capital support aquired late 2024. Stacy Hayes, EVP Americas, moves into a newly created global Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). As part of the changes, Brian Dutton, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Americas, will take on greater leadership responsibilities across the region, and Rob Mackle, Co-Founder, takes on the role of CRO, EMEA, as Assured continues to expand its customer base and operations.
Stacy will chart the future of the company, alongside CEO, Simon Chappell. Stacy’s responsibilities will include the management of Assured’s recently launched “Innovation Team”, OEM relationships, emerging markets, and a new public sector division.Â
These changes follow major investment announced in late 2024: Oakley Capital Fund V acquired Assured from Soho Square Capital in a transaction supported by Oakley Capital Investments, which contributed approximately £26 million to the deal. The founders—including CEO Simon Chappell—remain significant stakeholders. With funding, the company launched its Innovation Team in mid‑2025, who are tasked with advancing new managed-service offerings such as the Nutanix-powered disaster recovery solution built on AssuredView, the firm’s orchestration engine.
The Assured Data Protection Innovation team is led by Tony Giannini, who is the Global Innovations Team Leader. The team also includes Chris Deacon and Nik Grove, who are proficient in cyber resiliency. Additionally, Cali Hussey is a Channel Manager within the team
Simon Chappell, CEO, Assured, commented: “I’m delighted that Stacy is stepping into this vital new role at Assured. He’s a co-founder of our business and has been fundamental to our growth in the Americas. Now, as we enter a new phase of growth and expansion, underpinned by recent additional investment from Oakley Capital, Stacy will have the opportunity to oversee key pillars of the business and to help us grow and scale globally. I’m equally pleased that Brian Dutton will be stepping up in the organization and continuing his outstanding work and that Rob Mackle will take on additional EMEA opportunities, where he’s already achieved great success.”Â
Hayes now oversees OEM partnerships, strategic planning, and the Innovation Team’s next wave of product development. The Nutanix DRaaS initiative, created with “no on-site hardware requirement” design, is an example of how the strategy is unfolding.
Assured Data Protection is leveraging its core relationship with Rubrik, as its largest MSP, while branching out into complementary alliances.
Assured Data Protection and Rubrik collaborate to offer fully managed data protection and cyber recovery services, including backup, disaster recovery, and cyber resiliency. The partnership enables businesses to protect their critical data against various threats, including ransomware and cyberattacks, with a fully managed service model that includes design, implementation, and ongoing support.Â
