The cybersecurity solution provider powerhouse has promoted GuidePoint veteran Scott Rachford to serve as its new chief executive, succeeding company founder Michael Volk in the role.
GuidePoint Security announced Tuesday that it has promoted company veteran Scott Rachford to serve as its new CEO.
Rachford succeeds GuidePoint founder Michael Volk in the role.
[Related: GuidePoint Security Surging With Industry Giants, Startups: ‘We’re Always Early Adopters’]
Rachford was not immediately made available for an interview.
What follows are five things to know about GuidePoint Security’s CEO transition.
Company Veteran
Rachford joined Herndon, Va.-based GuidePoint Security, No. 32 on CRN’s Solution Provider 500 for 2026, in early 2016. He most recently had served as regional partner for the North Central region at the cybersecurity powerhouse.
Rachford’s accomplishments have included playing an “instrumental role” in the growth of GuidePoint’s business over the past decade, the company said in a news release.
Prior to joining GuidePoint, Rachford had spent eight years at cybersecurity vendor Qualys, including serving as a vice president and enterprise sales leader for the U.S. and Canada from 2014 to 2016. Earlier in his career, he spent eight years at VeriSign.
Succeeding Company Founder
Volk, a former FishNet Security COO who went on to launch GuidePoint Security in 2011, had served as CEO of the company since its inception.
With the appointment of Rachford as GuidePoint’s new CEO, Volk will be shifting into an executive chairman role, allowing him to stay “actively involved” with the company, GuidePoint said in a news release.
Further details about Volk’s plans were not specified in the release. A quote from Volk included in the release called this the “right time for Scott to lead the company into its next chapter.”
GuidePoint On The Rise
GuidePoint Security has seen a sharp growth trajectory in recent years thanks to its delivery of differentiated solutions and services for cybersecurity and AI, executives have told CRN.
This has included a major focus on building relationships with emerging cybersecurity vendors as well as the largest players in the industry, said Mark Thornberry, senior vice president for partnerships at GuidePoint, in a previous interview.
As just one indicator, GuidePoint Security recently advanced to No. 32 on CRN’s annual ranking of the largest IT channel players, the 2026 Solution Provider 500, up from No. 37 on the prior year’s list and No. 54 in 2021.
Key Priorities
In a quote included in the news release, Rachford said that GuidePoint is a company in the midst of a major evolution.
His focus as CEO, he said in the release, will be on “continuing that trajectory” at a time when many organizations are urgently seeking help with reducing cyber risk.
Recent CRN interviews with GuidePoint Security experts have highlighted the company’s increasing focus on areas such as identity security and access control, which have become critically important as a way for protecting employee usage of AI agents.
Top Vendor Partnerships
GuidePoint executives have also recently highlighted pivotal vendor partnerships for the solution and service provider with cybersecurity giants such as CrowdStrike, Zscaler and Okta.
For GuidePoint, which in May was named CrowdStrike’s Americas Partner of the Year, there’s no question that teaming with CrowdStrike on meeting the AI challenge to cyber defense will be pivotal going forward, Thornberry told CRN previously.
Meanwhile, Zscaler’s AI security and zero-trust message has resonated strongly with partners such as GuidePoint, according to Tristan Tarpinian, vice president for national alliances at GuidePoint.
And without a doubt, GuidePoint is seeing substantial customer interest right now around securing identities for AI agents—and specifically around Okta’s capabilities in that area, said Kevin Converse, vice president for identity and access management at GuidePoint.
