EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Mid Market Asia III Fund (“EQT Private Equity”) has made a significant investment in EC-Council (the “Company”). EC-Council’s founder, Malaysian technopreneur Jay Bavisi, will retain a majority stake in the Company and remain as the Group Chief Executive Officer.

Established in 2001, EC-Council develops and provides proprietary cybersecurity training and certification programs for customers in more than 145 countries around the world, both directly and through more than 700 partners. The Company has experienced strong growth in recent years driven by a rising need to protect corporations against increasingly complex cyber threats and a widening gap in the supply and demand of digital talent in the cybersecurity industry. Today it has a global presence with offices and operations in the US, Asia and Europe, employing about 500 people worldwide.

EQT will support EC-Council in its next chapter by leveraging EQT’s experience developing cybersecurity companies, its global advisory network and in-house capabilities within digitalization and sustainability. To further support the Company on its next stage of growth, EQT is happy to announce that Andrew Wait, former President of Lynda.com and EF Englishtown and former SVP and general manager at Ancestry.com, will join EC-Council’s board of directors.

EC-Council’s training and certification programs help to equip students and professionals with both foundational and advanced skill sets required to thrive in the cybersecurity industry. The Company’s first and most well-known certification, the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), specializes in ethical hacking and provides students with an understanding of various cyber-attack vectors and preventative countermeasures and regularly ranks among the top ten certifications that are highly sought after by employers in the cybersecurity industry.

EC-Council programs set the cybersecurity bar globally and are trusted by seven of the top ten Fortune companies and 47 of the top 100 list. The Company is also supporting public organizations and governmental bodies, including the US Department of Defense (DoD), various agencies in the global intelligence community, NATO, and more than 2,000 of the world’s top universities, colleges and training companies.

Since its inception, EC-Council has grown into a platform that aims to not only educate and certify, but also to provide a holistic ecosystem for current and aspiring cybersecurity professionals worldwide. The Company now has dozens of certification programs worldwide designed to expand and advance skillsets cybersecurity professionals need. The Company’s EC-Council University, an accredited institution of higher learning in the US, provides certificate, undergraduate and postgraduate programs in cybersecurity.

Brian Chang, Partner, Head of Southeast Asia and Investment Advisor within the EQT Private Equity Advisory Team, said, “EQT Private Equity is excited to invest in EC-Council at this pivotal stage of the Company’s growth. We have been impressed with EC-Council’s development in this high-growth sector and its role in expanding the talent pool in the global cybersecurity industry. We see immediate opportunities to apply our digital skillset as well as our industry network and sector expertise to support EC-Council’s ambitious vision and growth plans. We look forward to partnering with Jay and his management team to develop its full potential going forward.” Jay Bavisi, Founder and CEO of EC-Council, said, “Over the past two decades, the entire EC-Council team has dedicated itself to the mitigation and remediation of the cyber plague that remains an ever-present challenge to organizations in all geographies and industries across the globe. We are excited to partner with one of the world’s largest and most highly respected private equity institutions, EQT, to further accelerate our growth and increase our positive impact to the global community. By expanding our cybersecurity product portfolio and increasing the accessibility of online cyber preparedness training and testing tools, we hope to accelerate the development of cyber talent worldwide while encouraging the participation of more diverse communities in this growing industry.”

Contact
EQT APAC media inquiries: EQTAsia@brunswickgroup.com, +852 9255-5136
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

For EC-Council: Dan Chmielewski, Madison Alexander PR, dchm@madisonalexanderpr.com, +1-949-231-2965; +1-714-832-8716
EC-Council Press Office, press@eccouncil.org