The Operator’s Perspective
Michael Pleasant
Chief Executive Officer
Marine Corps veteran and co-founder who built Open Security to make operator-grade cybersecurity accessible to the businesses that actually need it.
- Security leadership
- Veteran enterprise
- Client partnerships
Introduction
Michael Pleasant is the Chief Executive Officer of Open Security. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, he co-founded the firm with Matt Toussain so military cyber discipline would show up in commercial work: honest scoping, findings a client can defend, and a partner who stays through remediation. He is the person event hosts and partners talk to when they want the company story — veteran-owned, operator-led, and built to last beyond a single report.
“After leaving the military, we wanted to bring the lessons learned while serving to the private sector — and grow the firm by reputation, not by noise.”
Expertise
Where Michael leads.
Security leadership
Sets the firm’s operating standard: practitioner-led delivery, client-owned findings, and growth that does not dilute the work.
CEO and co-founder of Open Security since 2016
Veteran enterprise
Translates military intelligence discipline into a commercial cybersecurity practice — and represents Open Security in veteran-business networks.
U.S. Marine Corps intelligence analyst; two combat tours
Client partnerships
Builds the relationships around the work: what a client actually needs, what not to test, and how the engagement should serve the business.
Leads strategic partnerships across services, training, and long-term programs
Enterprise risk communication
Frames Open Security’s work for boards, partners, and veteran-business audiences without turning security into fear.
About Open SecurityExperience & background
How the authority was earned.
As CEO, Michael runs the business that lets operators stay on the work — staffing, partnerships, and the veteran-owned identity that is an operating model, not a footnote.
His path runs through Marine Corps intelligence work and private-sector analysis before he and Matt stood up Open Security. The firm bootstrapped and grew organically; the standard was always the same: make cybersecurity accessible without watering down the craft.
Credentials
- Co-founder, Open Security
- U.S. Marine Corps veteran — intelligence analyst
- Two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals (as published in Open Security’s capabilities materials)
- CEO of Open Security
- Since 2016
- Intelligence analyst, two combat tours
- USMC
CEO of Open Security
Intelligence analyst, two combat tours
2016–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder
Open Security
Leads the firm’s operations, partnerships, and veteran-owned growth model.
2010s
Intelligence analyst
United States Marine Corps
Six years of service, including two combat tours and subsequent private-sector intelligence work.
Featured media
Watch, listen, or read first.
Article
VBE Spotlight: Open Security Inc.
NaVOBA’s Veteran Business Enterprise spotlight on Michael and the firm he co-founded — why Open Security treats every deliverable as the client’s property.
NaVOBA · 2025
Read the spotlight (opens in a new tab, NaVOBA)Featured insights
Selected work and coverage.
Training & appearances
Rooms Michael has been in.
Previous
2025
SiteNaVOBA VBE Spotlight
Guest · Veteran-owned cybersecurity and client-owned deliverables
Media kit
Use the approved facts.
For event organizers, podcast hosts, journalists, and partners. Copy or download — do not invent a bio.
Short biography
Michael Pleasant is the CEO and co-founder of Open Security, a veteran-owned cybersecurity firm. A U.S. Marine Corps intelligence veteran, he leads the company that makes operator-grade testing accessible to private-sector clients.
Extended biography
Michael Pleasant is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Open Security. After six years in the United States Marine Corps as an intelligence analyst — including two combat tours — and further private-sector intelligence work, he founded Open Security with Matt Toussain to bring military cyber discipline to commercial security testing. As CEO he manages operations across penetration testing, security auditing, and training, and develops the strategic partnerships behind the firm’s organic growth. Open Security is a certified Veteran’s Business Enterprise. Michael also volunteers with veteran-entrepreneur communities, including Bunker Labs.
Title
Chief Executive Officer
Pronunciation
PLEZ-unt
Approved headshot
Download portraitMedia contact
contact@opensecurity.ioBook a conversationSuggested interview topics
- Building a veteran-owned cybersecurity firm
- Why operator-led testing beats a scan-and-walk-away model
- Hiring and growing a practitioner company
- Making cybersecurity accessible without lowering the standard
Suggested speaking topics
- Veteran entrepreneurship in cybersecurity
- From military intelligence to commercial security operations
- What clients should demand from a security partner
Open Security
Open Security is a veteran-owned, operator-led cybersecurity firm. We run adversarial testing that uncovers exploitable risk, then hand clients the decision intelligence to act — backed by the platform our operators built.
Related experts
Keep reading the practice.
Matt Toussain
Founder & Chief Information Officer
Offensive security operator, SANS instructor, and the founder behind Sirius — turning real attack experience into the methodology and tools other operators use.
View profile →
Ryan Head
Vice President of Sales
The person who turns a technical practice into an executive conversation — so buyers hear what the operators will actually do, not a generic security pitch.
View profile →
Josh Christman
Chief Operating Officer
COO who runs security engineering and the applied AI behind Aludra. Tests stay scoped to business risk. Findings stay ones an engineer will stand behind.
View profile →Work with the operators Michael built the firm around.
Invite him to tell the company story, or talk through a security challenge with the team. The practitioner model is the same one he and Matt set when they started the company.