Our History, Story & Team | About Us

The Specops Story

Specops Software, an Outpost24 company, is the leading provider of password management and authentication solutions. Specops protects your business data by blocking weak passwords and securing user authentication. With a complete portfolio of solutions natively integrated with Active Directory, Specops ensures sensitive data is stored on-premises and in your control. Specops Software was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden with additional offices in the US, Canada, the UK, and Germany.

Group Management Team

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Karl Thedéen
Chief Executive Officer
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Karl Thedéen
Chief Executive Officer
Karl brings over 20 years of experience in the software and technology sector, having previously held CEO roles at media technology provider Edgeware AB and networking solution provider Transmode AB, before its acquisition by Infinera. He started his career with the telecom giant Ericsson, and has developed his business acumen and technological innovation throughout his career. Karl is also a board member of Semcon AB and SmartOptics AS.
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Ola Burmark
Chief Financial Officer
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Ola Burmark
Chief Financial Officer
Ola is a seasoned executive, most recently serving as CFO at ENEA Group, a leading specialist in software for telecommunications and cybersecurity. He also held CFO positions at numerous Nasdaq Stockholm listed companies, including ZetaDisplay, a creative provider of technology solutions for digital communications, and Nordic pharmaceutical specialist, Medivir AB.
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Youtse Sung
Chief Marketing Officer
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Youtse Sung
Chief Marketing Officer
Youtse is the Chief Marketing Officer at Outpost24, where she leads GTM strategy and oversees all aspects of marketing from demand generation, product marketing, events, branding and communications to digital operations. Prior to joining Outpost24, she led global marketing at digital experience platform provider, Episerver, where she helped transition it from a Nordic-based vendor to a global SaaS business. She is also a board member of Umbraco.
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Jerker Bäcklin
Chief Operating Officer
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Jerker Bäcklin
Chief Operating Officer
Jerker has 20 years of experience in the global technology landscape in companies such as Ericsson and Resurs Bank. With wide leadership experience from roles as Head of Product Domain, Head of Development and Head of Operations, Jerker has a track record of successful transformation of business, products, organizations, and ways of working. He is passionate about reaching strategic objectives by empowering organizations to execute on the agreed plans.
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Martin Jartelius
Chief Information Security Officer
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Martin Jartelius
Chief Information Security Officer
Martin oversees every aspect of security at Outpost24. His innovations initially introduced professional and managed services to the solution portfolio, and then established a strong security research team that has dramatically improved customer effectiveness in prioritizing and remediating threats. As a former security consultant at Logica/CGI, Martin is an expert in security audits, compliance, IT forensics, and penetration testing.
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Ebba Hamilton
Chief of Staff
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Ebba Hamilton
Chief of Staff
With broad experience in accounting, finance, and leadership at companies such as EY and IKEA, Ebba is responsible for our greatest assets, our employees. As the Chief of Staff, she manages the People Operations Department, consisting of HR, Payroll, Internal communication, special internal projects, and Corporate Social Responsibility. With an international background, Ebba has extensive experience in managing diverse teams towards the same goal with a focus on compliance, efficiency, and building a successful business culture.
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Brendan Hogan
Chief Strategy Officer
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Brendan Hogan
Chief Strategy Officer
Brendan has over 20 years of strategy and corporate development experience across technology and security. Before joining Outpost24, Hogan was Vice President and Head of Strategy and Corporate Development for Carbon Black, which was acquired by VMware. Brendan was also Senior Director for Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions at KPMG and served as part of the Strategy & Corporate Development executive team at VeriSign. His strengths lie in strategic planning, inorganic growth, and deal execution having led and advised on over 50 global M&A deals that represent more than $30 billion.
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Allan Robertson
Chief Revenue Officer
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Allan Robertson
Chief Revenue Officer
Allan is an experienced executive, holding consultant and long-term leadership positions within software sales. He served as the CRO for Intralinks, a leading Fintech provider of secure file sharing and collaboration technologies, where he gained international experience working in North America, Asia and Europe. He has also held sales leadership positions at IBM, Pirean, experts within Identity and Access Management, and marketing technology software, Acoustic.
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Paul Rowe
Head of Business Group, Access
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Paul Rowe
Head of Business Group, Access
Paul has a diverse background in B2B software sales management as both front-line manager and senior leader. He is highly skilled in both sales management and sales operations, serving a variety of customer segments. Paul has worked in both revitalizing veteran sales teams and has started teams from scratch, using a data-driven approach to influence his decisions.
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Gerard Cervelló
Head of Business Group, Threat Intelligence
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Gerard Cervelló
Head of Business Group, Threat Intelligence
Gerard specializes in management, business development and in deploying high-profile IT projects. Gerard was the General Manager/COO of Blueliv when it was acquired by Outpost24. Before joining Outpost24, Gerard has experience from large companies such as Philips, and start-ups such as Isoco and Scytl. Gerard holds a Master of Engineering in Telecommunications from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
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Chris De Hous
Head of Business Group, EASM
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Chris De Hous
Head of Business Group, EASM
Throughout his career, Chris has focused on businesses with a significant services component as well as project-based businesses. His passion is leading teams to transform an organization for achieving a better performance

Our Locations

International Headquarters

Vasagatan 7A
S-11120 Stockholm

Phone: +46-8-465 012 34

Support: +46-8-465 012 50

Canada

517 Wellington Street West, Suite 400
Toronto, ON M5V 1G1

Toll Free: +1-877-SPECOPS (773 2677)

Phone: +1-416-849-5325

United States

123 South Broad Street, Suite 2530
Philadelphia, PA 19109

Toll Free: +1-877-SPECOPS (773 2677)

Phone: +1-416-849-5325

United Kingdom

19 Eastbourne Terrace
London
W2 6LG

Phone: +44 (0)203 002 1877

Germany

Gierkezeile 12
10585 Berlin

Phone: +49 30166 37218

France

291 Rue Albert Caquot
06560 Valbonne

Phone: + 33 4 8937 5517

Highlights

2023

Specops releases the Weak Password Report 2023, analyzing live passwords used in RDP port attacks and a link between compromised passwords regardless of regulatory password standards length and complexity requirements.

2022

Specops becomes certified in ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Management Standards under the Outpost24 group.
Outpost24 announced it has partnered with Vitruvian Partners to power the company’s next phase of growth.
Specops released the first annual Weak Password Report to identify current password security trends such as password themes and reuse, and how hackers have adjusted their tactics to keep up.
Over 230 million compromised passwords added to Specops Breached Password Protection database from both our own internal attack monitoring systems and passwords recently found by the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.

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2021

Specops Software first obtains Cyber Essentials certification to guard against the most common cyber threats and demonstrate commitment to cyber security
Cyber Security assessment company, Outpost24, acquired a majority in Specops Software to extend security coverage of potential exploits and ransomware.
Specops Password Policy adds live attack data from the recently deployed honeypot system which collects passwords used in attacks on the system’s endpoints.

2020

To address new challenges associated with a remote workforce, Specops offers a free version of products, such as Specops Password Notification, to help IT admins communicate password expirations with remote users.
Specops introduces Secure Service Desk to address user verification gaps at the service desk, and wins a Gold Award on Techgenix.com.
Specops Password Auditor adds an Executive Summary report to help technical IT professionals get sign-off on password security projects.

2019

Specops launches Specops Key Recovery – a self-service solution for unlocking computers encrypted by BitLocker and Symantec Endpoint Encryption.
Equity investment firm, Monterro, acquires a majority in Specops Software to accelerate expansion within identity and access management.
A new release of Specops Password Policy introduces a downloadable password deny list of 1 billion leaked passwords.

2018

Specops Password Auditor wins Gold Award from Microsoft MVP on Techgenix.com.
Specops Password Policy introduces a compromised password blocking service, enabling organizations to block over 1 billion previously leaked passwords. The list is continuously updated in response to new threats.
Specops Password Policy receives 5-star rating on Help Net Security.

2017

Specops launches Specops Authentication for O365 – a single solution that streamlines and secures Office 365 (O356) Active Directory integration and user login with dynamic multi-factor authentication.
Specops introduces Specops Password Auditor – a free tool that scans Active Directory to uncover areas of weakness related to password policies. 4Sysops states that Specops Password Auditor “…is a must have utility” for Windows system administrators.
Specops Password Policy receives a Gold Award from Microsoft MVP on Techgenix.com.

2016

Specops Deploy/Inventory wins the District Administration Readers Choice Top 100 Products Award.
A new release of Specops uReset introduces animated cues to the weighted identity feature as well as additional reporting features.
Specops Password Policy is updated with support for online dictionaries and password hash dictionaries.

2015

Specops uReset is launched, enabling authentication choice with more than 20 identity services to ensure users are successful when resetting their passwords.
Specops uReset receives a Gold Award from Microsoft MVP on WindowSecurity.com.
Specops Deploy 6.0 is released with support for deployment of Windows 10 and Windows Defender.
Specops Password Policy receives a Gold Award from Microsoft MVP on WindowSecurity.com

2014

Gartner names Specops an Active Directory Specialist for Password Management Tools.
Specops Password Management 6.3 introduces support for passphrases and our complete guide to ensuring customer success when implementing a self-service password reset solution.
Specops Deploy 5.0 is released, bringing simple desktop management to tablets.

2013

Specops Password Management is developed to include synchronization support for SAP and Domino.
Specops Deploy adds support for management of Forefront Endpoint Protection and the latest version of App-V.

2012

Specops Deploy takes home Gold in the Windows IT Pro Editor’s Best award.
Specops Password Reset is a finalist in the Best of TechEd.
Specops Password Management is boosted with the addition of Specops Password Synchronization, connecting critical business systems to Active Directory password changes.